


Dies Irae: Dragons

by Jen Hall (Greenlady)



Series: Dies Irae [3]
Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Established Relationship, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-10
Updated: 2010-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 14:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenlady/pseuds/Jen%20Hall





	Dies Irae: Dragons

Dies Irae: Dragons

 

*************************************  
Lacrimosa dies illa,  
qua resurget ex favilla  
judicandus homo reus….

That tearful day,  
when from the ashes shall rise again  
sinful man to be judged….

****************************************

 

'Mr. Hutchinson, would you like to hear my opinion on your condition, and my recommendations for your treatment, or not?'

'Not,' said Hutch.

The physician was untroubled by this revelation. 'I see. I suspected that such would be your response. However, your response leads me to question why you consulted me in the first place.'

'I did consult you under pressure from my mate,' said Hutch. 'Be thou quiet, Starsky.'

His mate, who had said nothing, but had, indeed, been contemplating a riposte, glared at Hutch, but kept silent, as ordered.

'If you consulted me in order to please your mate, why do you not wish to please him further by considering my recommendations?'

'Because I did promise to consult you, not to obey your orders,' said Hutch.

'Is sophistry an accepted part of your culture?' asked the physician. 'If so, might I be allowed to answer with a sophistry of my own?'

'If you wish,' said Hutch, airily.

'I have given no orders, merely offered my opinions. Is your resistance, by any chance, a self-protective mechanism?'

'Mayhap,' said Hutch. 'Is this your concept of sophistry? If so, it is sorely lacking in the requisite characteristic of fallacious plausibility designed to achieve a deception.'

'It is the only sophistry in which I am capable of partaking,' said the physician. 'My vocation is diagnosing ailments and recommending treatments. I have your best interests in mind at all times.'

Hutch got to his feet, and walked about the room, restlessly. He stopped by the window, and stared outside for a while, in silence. No one interrupted him, until he turned back to the room. 'Do you speak truth?' he asked. 'Is such a thing possible?'

The physician answered, 'I am incapable of falsehood. You knew that, which was why you chose me as your physician. Am I correct?'

'I chose you, because I was assured that you were lacking in ego, and entirely disinterested. That you had no agenda to fulfill, nor any belief in your own infallibility.'

'How could I have an ego, or an agenda?' asked the physician. 'I understand the reasons for your resistance. Might I be allowed to give you my opinions and my recommendations for your consideration? They are only opinions, based upon the evidence. My recommendations are not commands, merely suggestions, and you are the only one who can determine their value.'

Hutch waved his hand, and answered, 'Be thou my guest.'

'The electrical treatment which was forced upon you was brutal and primitive. It cleared the pathways to your buried memories, which was useful as far as it went, but it had unforeseen effects beyond that.'

'I am aware of the effects,' Hutch pointed out.

'There was damage to your brain cells,' the physician continued. 'The damage may be reversible over time, or it may not. I don't believe the damage is severe. You don't appear to have impaired judgement, or motor abilities.'

'But you are concerned, nevertheless,' said Hutch.

'Physicians are always concerned when there is damage to brain cells which may not be reversible. But my main concern in this instance, is that there is resulting damage to your emotional state, exacerbating the emotional damage caused by the previous assault upon your person. Your mate is concerned about that as well, as you noted.'

'Oh, Hutch has always been bad tempered,' Starsky put in.

'But thou art still concerned,' said Hutch.

'I love thee,' said Starsky. 'Despite thy bad temper.'

'Neither assault should be brushed off as negligible,' said the physician. 'But nor should they be seen as damaging your value as a person. As I noted, there seems to be no impairment of your physical abilities. Therefore, your analogy of the imperfect arrow does not apply. Your mate has affirmed his desire to remain by your side. The only problem, as I see it, is that you are experiencing emotional pain, and the best treatment for emotional pain is love. My first recommendation is to give yourself unlimited access to your mate's love, as often as possible.'

'You came highly recommended,' said Starsky. 'But not highly enough.'

'I thank you for your approbation,' said the physician, with a nod to Starsky. 'Mr. Hutchinson has concerns of his own, does he not?'

'He does,' said Starsky.

'Would you like to discuss these concerns with me, Mr. Hutchinson?' asked the physician.

Hutch moved restlessly, again.

'I am completely incapable of being embarrassed,' the physician continued.

'It is not embarrassment that concerns me,' said Hutch.

'I am a general physician. I have no deep knowledge of your culture, or of your sexuality, philosophy, religion, psychiatry….'

'Yes, yes,' Hutch interrupted. 'All this do I know.'

'I can listen to your concerns, however. That much I can do.'

Hutch sat down again, close to Starsky. 'I told you about the effects of the electric shocks,' he said. 'Some of the effects, at the least. I told you I heard the dragon, in my mind.'

'Is that so troubling to you?' asked the physician. 'You thought it was a development of your abilities.'

'It is. And at first the development excited me, but worried me also. It has been long and long since anyone from my World has heard the dragon's speech, without entering the maze. She doth speak to me more and more clearly, with the dawning of every new day.'

'And you are worried what the people of your World will think, if they find this out?'

'I live no longer in my home world,' said Hutch, uneasily. 'But to speak to the dragon, mind to mind, unhindered by the maze -- that has been unheard of for an unlimited age. My World would look upon me as an oddity, and possibly a dangerous one.' Hutch was silent for a moment, gazing at the floor. 'And then, the dragon influences me,' he added.

Starsky smiled, sleepily. 'She does, indeed,' he said.

'She has appetites,' Hutch continued. 'Dragon appetites. They are… carnal appetites. Men from my World are expected to be pure, not carnal.'

Starsky laughed, and had trouble stopping once he started.

'Your mate seems happy enough about this change in your demeanor,' the physician noticed.

'Starsky is the son of a dragon,' said Hutch.

'And you are not?' asked the physician. 'You come from her World.'

Hutch didn't answer.

'There is little information in my data bases about the men of your World, or of the dragon and its significance,' the physician added, after a moment's consideration.

Hutch moved restlessly, once more. 'The omissions in your data base are deliberate,' he said at last. 'It is not that we are forbidden to speak of such things, but that we wish them not to be recorded, and shared with anyone who is interested.'

'Our sessions are private,' said the physician. 'A video copy is being made, and will be provided to you when you leave. It is the only copy. Nothing you say to me will be added to my data base, unless you wish it, and give express permission.'

'The dragon is the core of our World,' said Hutch. 'She doth lie coiled in her bed of molten lava. Sometimes she sleeps, and sometime she dreams. When she doth sleep, the World is at peace. When she dreams, new life cometh into being. Her breath becomes the air we breathe, and her tears the oceans.'

'That is a beautiful belief,' said the physician.

'It is truth,' said Hutch, simply. 'The dragon waketh, and she doth stir. The earth above her buckles and ripples, mountains tumble, and all life in the paths of the avalanches dies. Molten lava poureth out upon the earth, killing everything in its path. The dragon doth breathe fire, turning the air to flame, and all life unfortunate enough to exist near her nostrils, suffocates and dies. She weeps in sorrow, and her tears flood the oceans and all life near the shoreline drowns and dies.'

'And you speak to this dragon?'

'We do. The men speak to her, at least.'

'But not the women?'

'Women do not need to speak to her. Women are the dragon,' said Hutch. 'Women are the embodiment of her, on the surface of the World. Men… men were the dragon's mates. They were her partners, until a new age dawned.'

'What happened then?' asked the physician.

'Men began to believe they could rule over the dragon,' said Hutch. 'They no longer wished to be her partners, but her lords. They did believe they could force her to sleep forever, and make the World a safer place, but they did rouse her wrath instead. She punished them, by refusing to speak with men unless she was protected by the maze. So they gained their desire, but in a warped way. Men are no longer partners with the dragon, and after that, we did cease to be true partners with our wives.'

'Don't you think the dragon was over-reacting?' asked Starsky. 'Just a little?'

'No!' said Hutch. 'If men had gained control over the dragon, in what condition would our World be now? She is the heart of our world, and the heart would have been enslaved. It might have died, in such captivity. Men might have murdered the very earth, in their attempt to remake it to suit themselves.'

'But now it seems the situation has changed,' said Starsky. 'Does the dragon seem angry about this? Or surprised?'

'No, not at all,' said Hutch, slowly. 'She seems interested in me.'

'She likes you, Hutch,' said Starsky, with a smile. 'I have a rival for your affections. I think I should make my ownership clear. You're mine.'

'Indeed,' said Hutch. 'How dost thou intend to fight the dragon? She is far more powerful than thou art.'

'I art here,' said Starsky. 'And she art not.'

'Thy grammar it doth leave something to be desired.'

'But this dothn't,' Starsky replied, indicating what he meant.

'Thou art a lewdster,' said Hutch. 'And we are in a public place. And we have a witness.'

'It's a private office,' said Starsky. 'The witness is a hologram. Since I'm paying for this visit -- at your insistence, by the way -- I'm ending the session.' Starsky looked at the physician. 'Session ended,' he said. 'But please keep recording. I want the video for my files.'

'Certainly, sir,' said the holographic physician. 'I will include any further recommendations with the video.' He smiled, and disappeared.

'If only all nuisances could be disposed of with such ease,' Hutch complained. 'Dost thou intend to ravish me on the desk?'

'I dost,' said Starsky. He swept everything off the desk in question. Something broke, and released the scent of roses. Hutch's favourite flower, thought Starsky. 'Come here!' he ordered.

'Art thou speaking to me, perchance?' asked Hutch, with considerable hauteur.

'Oh. It's going to be like that, is it? Well, I'm up to the challenge.' He stalked toward his prey.

Hutch put up a good fight, to the intense satisfaction of them both.

'Mayhap thou couldst defeat the dragon, after all,' said Hutch, when they were finished, and putting their clothes back on. He looked around the office, and smiled. 'I believe,' he continued. 'Since thou art paying for this visit, I would that thou didst also pay the damages. I'll wait for thee in the car.'

****************************

 

'What do you think?' asked Starsky.

'What do I think about what?' asked Hutch, sleepily. 'I would not think. It is late, and I would sleep. Turn that damned thing off.'

'What do you think about the physician's recommendations? You know. On the video.' Starsky turned the video player off, and turned down the lights to a romantic glow.

'The video?' asked Hutch, ignoring this ploy. 'Thou didst hear those recommendations? I thought that thou wert paying attention to other things.'

'I wert. But I heard the recommendations, nevertheless. Demon Hunters are trained to pay attention to several things at one time,' said Starsky.

'Yes. I noticed that thou didst pay attention to several things at once.'

'So? What did you think?'

'I think that he is an holographic physician. What does he know?'

'Hutch. I think he has a point.'

'Thou dost have a point, Starsky, and thou dost use it frequently. That does not mean that I do listen to thine words, and give them weight they do not deserve.'

'Hutch! I'm hurt.'

'No, thou art not so sensitive. Starsky, listen to me. I am not about to pack up and return to my World to confront the dragon, face to face, for such is not a viable alternative. I left that World long ago, and have not returned…'

'Why, Hutch? No, listen to me, and answer me. Why have you not returned?'

'… not since the trial, in which I was blamed for starting a religious war, merely because I did take a bath,' Hutch continued. 'I have enemies there…'

'And you're intimidated by them?'

'… who would like the chance to force me to conform. They cannot possibly achieve their aims, and no, I am not intimidated by them, or by anyone, least of all by thee, but it tires me to be forever fighting them. Why should I waste my time fighting them? There are better reasons to fight.'

'There are!' said Starsky, triumphantly. 'One of those reasons might be to settle this thing with the dragon. Isn't it possible she could be persuaded to lift the ban on speaking with men? Perhaps she'd accept men as her equal mates again, and that would give you more freedom and equality with women.'

'Mayhap and perchance,' said Hutch. 'If thou dost think it to be worth the trouble.'

'I do,' said Starsky. 'But it is your call. It's your World, and your life. But I'd like to see you happy again.'

'I am happy,' said Hutch. 'Set thy mind at rest.'

'Are you?' asked Starsky. 'You still believe that somehow you have lost value. Not to me you haven't. I proved that, didn't I? Don't I go on proving it, every morning and every night?'

'And every mid-day,' said Hutch. 'My feelings upon the subject art not thy fault, Starsky. I have lost value, in my own eyes. It is hard for thee to see it, because thou hast never suffered such a loss, and I pray thou never shalt. I have nightmares about such a horror happening to thee, and visions about the punishment I would mete out upon the perpetrators. No one had ever so treated me as if I were dirt under their feet, not even the most savage of demons. Not even the people on that world, that buried me in a stone tomb alive, committed such an assault upon my person.'

Starsky could say nothing. He took Hutch's hands in his own, and kissed each finger tip, one after the other.

Hutch sighed. 'I know that thou lovest me well,' he said. 'If thou didst not, thou wouldst not put up with my temper. I will do what thou dost suggest, though I think the mission is doomed to failure, just to show thee that I do love thee, in spite of thy faults.'

'What faults are those?' Starsky managed to ask.

'Do not thou tempt me to begin to list them all,' said Hutch, with a loving smile. 'The telling of the tale would take too long.'

Starsky smiled back. 'There are better things I'll tempt thee to do,' he said.

************************************

'If we do return to my World, how should we present ourselves?' asked Hutch, as they drove to work the next morning.

'I don't know,' Starsky admitted. 'Isn't that for you to say?'

'Not at all,' said Hutch. 'The opinion of my World has always been, that thou must be the woman in our relationship. Therefore, it is for thee to say.'

'Hutch! I have the greatest respect for women, especially the women of your World. But I'm not a woman, and I can't pretend to be one. I only know enough about your culture to keep your mother from ripping my head off my shoulders, and draping my guts over her doorposts. I've never even visited your World. Only seen videos of it. That was enough, thank you.'

'I agree,' said Hutch. 'So, we forget the idea and stay home. Here we are -- Metro. Drop the subject and let's get to work.'

'Yes, my Lord. And you want me to pretend to be your Lady Wife! Why don't you begin by walking two steps behind me, and keeping your mouth shut, for a change… Hutch! Do as you're told.'

I'm wasting my breath, as usual, thought Starsky, with a delighted laugh. Hutch strode ahead, obliviously, and slammed open the door to Metro. Young Patrol Officers took one look at his face, and scurried out of his way.

They didn't even have the chance to remove their jackets, before Dobey opened the door to his office.

'Starsky! Hutchinson! My office!' said Dobey, in stentorian tones.

They looked at each other, and grinned. Starsky's grin faded, the instant he stepped inside the office, however.

'You!' he said.

'Yes. It's us,' said one of Dobey's visitors. 'Come out with your hands up. It's the Feds.'

'Ah. The Feds,' said Hutch. 'My partner told me all about you. Nice to meet you. When are you going home?'

'Not until our work here is finished,' said the Male Fed, he of the Armani suits, and sardonic smirk.

'Good luck with that,' said Hutch. 'So, Dobey,' he continued. 'What did you want to see us about?'

Dobey waved his hand in the direction of the Feds. 'They'll tell you all about it,' he announced.

'Oh, no,' said Starsky. 'Not again. Hutch and me killed Sydonay. We prevented the Demon Invasion. What more do you want?'

'Congratulations,' said the Female Fed, she of the red hair and witchy smile. 'But what have you done for us lately?'

'See, Dobey,' said Starsky. 'That's why I hate these guys. I told you before. You give them a centimetre, and they demand a kilometre. Let them get their foot in the door, and they're in bed with you before you know it.'

Hutch was coolly examining both Feds from head to toe. 'That Armani suit?' he asked the Male Fed.

'Yeah,' said the Fed. 'What of it?'

'Didn't know Fed pay was so high.'

'It's not,' said the Fed. 'I have my own money.'

'He earns it on his back,' Starsky explained.

'Starsky!' roared Dobey.

'Yeah, Cap?' asked Starsky, innocently. 'What's the problem?'

Dobey opened his mouth to explain his problem, but the Gigolo Fed interrupted. 'Actually, Starsky, I earn it on my front. I'm always on top,' he said.

'Yes,' said Starsky. 'On top of what, though? That's the question.'

The little red-haired Witch Fed sighed, and shook her head. 'Gentlemen, Gentlemen,' she said. Then she appeared to be overwhelmed with pain. She sat down in one of the visitor's chairs, and opened a hand-held computer, as if dealing with humans, especially of the male variety, had suddenly become too much for her.

Hutch, of course, was on his knees at her feet in an instant, offering her the hilt of his knife. 'My Lady,' he said. 'Please accept my apologies, and my service, however humble and inefficient they might be. Forgive me my inadequacies?'

The Lady Fed looked up, astonished. She seemed unable to find the words with which to answer Hutch.

Hutch paled, and looked down, embarrassed. Starsky was about to step forward, and challenge the Lady Fed to a duel for his lover's honour. But suddenly, the Lady Fed found her voice.

'Well,' she said. 'It seems one of you truly is a gentleman. Thank you, Sir. I will forgive you.' She put the accent on the word "you", looking at her partner and Starsky pointedly.

'Um… I'm sorry too,' said Starsky quickly. And get up off your knees, Hutch, he thought.

The Gigolo Fed glared at Starsky. 'So am I,' he said. 'In fact, I'm sorrier than he is.'

Hutch got to his feet, and turned to look at them both. 'You are both sorry specimens of manhood,' he said. 'You should be offering to do this Lady's will, and not clawing and biting at each other like tomcats in her very presence.'

The Gigolo Fed gasped with laughter. 'I should be what?' he asked. 'She'd laugh herself sick if I….'

'Would I, indeed?' asked the Witch Fed… er, the Lady Fed.

Hutch turned the blade of his knife toward the Gigolo Fed. 'I am this Lady's chosen servant and champion,' he announced. 'I will fight thee, and force thee to do her will.'

The Gigolo Fed started to laugh again, then took another look at Hutch's face, and changed his mind. He backed away, slowly and carefully. 'Now look,' he said. 'There's no need for violence. You are threatening a Federal Officer….'

'I am defending my Lady,' said Hutch. 'And enforcing her Will. And that takes precedence.'

Starsky opened his mouth to protest, then changed his mind. For several weeks now, since Hutch had returned from his exile in that terrible World where he had been tortured and shamed, he had not truly been himself. They had defeated Sydonay and the Demon Hordes together. Starsky had showered him with love and attention, and Hutch had begun to recover. But still, something inside his lover's soul had been dimmed. Now, ancient instincts had arisen. Hutch could never be a good husband to a Lady Wife, as his people expected. He could never walk two steps behind anyone, and keep his mouth shut when commanded. But when a woman seemed to need his services -- though not in a sexual sense, for in his World that would be a terrible and unforgivable sin -- Hutch was there, offering his sword. The light was back in his eyes, in full force. The thing to do, was to end this drama, before it ended badly, and that light went out again.

'Of course the Lady's will takes precedence,' said Starsky. 'And you're right. We have been behaving badly. Especially me.' He turned to the Gigolo Fed. I hate you, he thought. 'I'm sorry for the rude things I said,' he said out loud. 'Can't we be friends?' He held out his hand.

The Gigolo Fed glared at him. Then he took another look at his partner, who was shooting daggers at him from her witchy green eyes. He looked at Hutch, who was still advancing on him slowly, with definite intent. He glanced at Dobey, who was on his feet, and doing some glaring of his own. The Gigolo Fed grinned. 'Sure,' he said. 'We're pals. What's all the fuss about?' He took Starsky's hand, and squeezed. Starsky squeezed back. Hard. The Gigolo Fed hid his wince, though not quite successfully enough for Starsky.

'Well, now that's settled,' said Dobey. 'I hope there won't be another display of fireworks in the near future. We have business to attend to.'

Hutch seemed to shake himself, and come out of his trance. Starsky watched his face, closely. He looked satisfied with himself. Starsky moved up beside him, and set his shoulder against his. 'Business,' he said. 'Yes. Let's get down to business.' He smiled at the Witch Fed. 'What is it My Lady wants?' he asked. As long as it isn't Hutch, he thought. Keep your long red nails off his back.

'Please,' said the Witch Fed. 'Let's all sit down.'

They all sat down.

'My partner and I have a question for you and your partner, Detective Hutchinson,' she continued.

'We will answer to the best of our ability,' said Hutch.

'After you and Detective Starsky defeated the Demon Council at the Battle of Bay City, there were a number of stories about you in the media. You have become quite famous.'

'Thank you, My Lady,' said Hutch. 'But Starsky and I did not win the battle on our own. We were only two Demon Hunters among many.'

'Yes, but it was largely because of your efforts that the battle was won. Your mother and the Queen of your World brought their troops into battle at your request, didn't they?'

'They did indeed, My Lady,' said Hutch.

'There were many stories about you, and your family, and your people, shown in the media. The stories attracted the attention of a certain well-known personage, and she wishes to meet you. But before she invites you to her… home, she wants us to ask you a question first. Would you be willing to undertake a mission on her behalf?'

Hutch opened his mouth to say that of course they would undertake any number of missions on behalf of any number of Ladies, but Starsky spoke first.

'We might go on a mission for this Lady,' he said. 'If we knew who the Lady was, and what the mission involved.' He glanced at Hutch. 'I think those are reasonable questions,' he added.

'Of course,' said the red-haired Witch Fed. 'The Lady is Queen Diana, of Great Britain. She wants you to undertake a personal mission in her name, to your home World, Detective Hutchinson. The nature of this mission is a private one, and I don't know what it involves, so I cannot say. All she wants to know ahead of time, is if you would be willing to travel to your World in her service. If you don't like the mission once it is offered to you, you will still have the right of refusal.'

'I will offer my services to Queen Diana unreservedly,' said Hutch. 'She is a noble Lady, and a courageous Queen. How could I refuse?'

Well, thought Starsky. It looks as if we'll be paying a visit to Hutch's World after all.

**************************

'Glamis. One of the most beautiful castles in all of Britain,' said Queen Diana, waving her hand about with mock grandeur.

'It is a beautiful house, Your Majesty,' said Starsky.

Queen Diana smiled charmingly at Starsky's use of the word "house". 'It has been my home all my life,' she said. 'I was born here, and I've always loved its beauty. But it is also one of the most haunted castles in all of Britain.'

'No wonder, Your Majesty,' said Hutch. 'It is your home. Who would want to leave such a noble, brave and beautiful Lady, for some paltry reason such as death? Not I.'

'You are a courtier, sir,' said the Queen.

'Not at all. My words are simply the truth.'

'They are flattering words, coming, as they do, from a publicly acknowledged hero.'

'I am not a hero, Your Majesty. I am only….'

'Only a brave man who faces danger every day, because he must? That is a hero, I vow. And since I am a powerful Queen, my vows carry some weight.'

'Then you are a hero also, Your Majesty, since you have faced danger all your life, from the day you were born.'

'Yes,' said the Queen. 'I have forgotten what fear is. I suppose I felt it once or twice when I was a child.' The Queen spoke those last words with a sort of simple nostalgia, as might an orphan, speaking of the memory of the touch of her mother's hand. 'But enough of such sentimentality,' she continued, briskly. 'Or soon, you shall both tire of me. I'm sure you are dying to know why I have invited you here. Let us walk in the gardens, shall we? The air is fresher there, and the sun is shining.'

They were in the older part of the castle, at the back, far from the public rooms that were the only rooms to which most visitors were ever admitted. The invitation to the Queen's private chambers was a great honour, and Starsky and Hutch knew it. They had been informed so by the Queen's Steward the instant they had entered the castle.

The Queen opened the door to her office herself, with her own hand, rather than call upon a servant, and led them down a hall toward a lovely private sitting room. Large glass doors opened further upon a private courtyard and garden. Starsky and Hutch followed her through the garden toward a gate.

An elderly gardener, who had been trimming a bush, stepped up, and barred the way to the gate. He bowed. 'Ma'am,' he said. 'You should not….'

'I should not?' asked the Queen. 'What is this word, "should"? And what means this "not"? I have been told all my life what I should not do, and yet I have done these things, and still live. If I had listened to the advice of others, who knows how long I should have been buried in the graveyard yonder, and be walking as yet another one of those haunting these grounds? A ghost. Headless. Handless. Footless. Breastless. Gutless. Take your pick.'

'Forgive me, Ma'am,' said the gardener. 'I only care about your safety.'

The Queen laughed. 'I am in the company of two Demon Hunters, Beasley,' she said. 'I'm sure they can fight off any assassins who get past your defenses, and their honour is beyond question. Step aside.'

'Aye, Ma'am,' said Beasley. 'Demon Hunters.' He eyed Hutch askance.

Starsky could practically hear him thinking: Traveller.

The Queen opened the gate, and led Starsky and Hutch out onto the open grounds around the castle. 'Ah,' she said, drawing a deep breath. 'Now I can breathe. It's so much more open out here.'

And so far from prying eyes and ears, thought Starsky.

'See that line of trees ahead?' she asked. 'They hide the electric fence that surrounds this lovely place. Those turrets hide the machine guns. Don't step off the beaten path, or you might step on a land mine. I can't see the defenses, but still they are there. Sometimes I want to say the Hell with it all, and take my chances living a normal life.'

'Your Majesty….' Starsky began.

'Oh, be Damned to titles. Please. At least for the moment, call me Diana. My mother called me that. No one has dared to do so since she died. Though I have been called worse out of my hearing, I am sure.'

Starsky thought about the way the Queen's mother had died. 'Diana,' he said, softly. For a moment, Starsky and Hutch thought the Queen would break down and cry. Fear might be unknown to her, but grief was not, they thought.

'Diana,' Starsky continued. 'If you were to die….'

'If I were to die, the grief and the wailing and the sobbing and the tearing of breasts would be endless. Yes, yes. I know. Life would go on. Eventually.'

'Life would go on. Yes,' said Hutch. 'But My Lady… My Lady Diana, you must consider. How would life go on, and for whom? You are all that stands between your people and a civil war. A war that might end in the occupation of your throne by the greatest and the vilest of your enemies. Enemies who would wreak vengeance upon your friends and supporters, and perhaps all your people.'

The Queen sighed. 'I know. It is my duty to survive, until I can provide my people with a viable heir who is mature enough to rule.'

'Your duty, yes,' Hutch continued. 'But Lady Diana, it should also be your joy. Is there no joy in your life at all? Many people love you. Many would die for you, without question. You are a young and beautiful woman. Brave beyond the telling. Even among my people, you would be honoured. My own Queen would bow her head before you, were you to walk into her throne room, and ask for her crown. She would fight you for her kingdom, but she would honour your courage, and mourn your death should she win the battle. Any man would be prepared to kill for the honour of your hand in marriage.'

'Would they?' asked the Queen. And for the first time, a touch of bitterness entered her tone. 'That is one of the reasons I asked to speak to you privately.' She looked around, unobtrusively. 'Can you sense that anyone is listening to us?' she asked. 'I know that there are ways and means. Ways and means to overhear conversations that are not meant for enemy ears.'

'No,' said Hutch. 'I sense no such surveillance. But wait.' Hutch drew his demon-killing knife.

'Dammit, Hutch,' said Starsky, softly. 'Be careful. If anyone sees that, they may think you're threatening the Queen, and shoot us both. Shoot first, and ask questions later. That's my motto, too.'

'No one has seen,' said Hutch. 'Keep on walking and talking. Talk about the weather,' he suggested.

'It's a nice day, isn't it?' asked the Queen.

'Very nice,' said Starsky, nervously. Hutch had no sense, sometimes.

Hutch cut his palm with the point of his knife, and his blood ran down the blade. He sang. A red mist spread from the knife, in all directions. It drifted off, and dispersed.

'There!' said Hutch with satisfaction. His knife vanished, and Starsky breathed again. 'We are protected now,' Hutch continued. 'No one can hear us, Lady Diana. They can still see us, but not as clearly. We are surrounded by a very pretty, rosy mist, just enough to hide our facial expressions, and the movements of our lips.'

'That is interesting magic,' said the Queen. 'Might anyone learn it?'

'No,' said Hutch. 'It cannot be learnt. Nor can it be taught. Nor can it be performed by anyone who is not from my World. The magic is in my blood -- my living blood. I carry the blood of the dragon.'

'I see,' said the Queen. 'Can anyone of your World perform this magic?'

'Not just anyone, no. Most of us have some form of magic, but the form varies. It depends if you are a woman, or a man, or what part of the World you come from. Those who have more of the dragon's blood in their veins, have more magic, and thence more power, and thence rise higher in the aristocracy. They tend to pass on their power to their descendents, but not always.'

'I see,' said the Queen, again. 'Now that no one can possibly overhear, I may speak more freely. What you said, about love, about marriage, about descendents -- all this is germane.'

'Ah!' said Hutch. 'I thought it was.'

'I know that you came from your World, through a Gate, to this World. You married your mate, and you live in our World, happily enough. Am I correct?'

'You are, My Lady Diana,' said Hutch.

'Do you miss your World?' the Queen asked. 'Forgive me if my questions are too personal, but I have my reasons for asking them.'

'No need for forgiveness,' said Hutch. 'Your questions do not offend me, My Lady Diana. I don't miss my World, and I never have. But I am a Traveller.'

'A Traveller? Yes. But you have settled here, to some extent.'

'I have settled here, and I am happy. I love my mate, and our life together.'

'Do you think… Is it possible… Might there be others, other men from your World, who would feel the same? Keep walking. Don't look so surprised. Don't let anyone suspect we are speaking of anything but the weather and the scenery.'

'Are you asking me to be a matchmaker, Your Majesty?' asked Hutch.

'That is what I am asking, yes,' said the Queen. 'This is a secret, sacred mission I am asking you to undertake for me. No one, and I stress no one, knows of it. And no one must know of it, until the mission is ended. I conceived of this mission when I saw the videos in the media. There you were, fighting the Demon Council. Your mate at your side, and your mother. And your Queen, and all her troops. The announcers said that in your World, the women ruled. Their men were fiercely loyal unto death. They obey their wives, and do not feel that diminishes their manhood.'

'All this is true, Lady Diana,' said Hutch. 'As true as the speech of the dragon.'

'I ask you to find a mate for me, from among your people. Perhaps your Queen has a son, who would consider being my Consort?'

'Do you mind my asking why, My Lady Diana?' asked Hutch. 'Do you want only an obedient husband?'

'Ask me any questions you wish on this subject,' said the Queen. 'No. I do not wish only for an obedient husband. I do not need a slave. Such would be easy enough to find, if I did. I need a husband who is completely masculine, and yet willing to bend his will to mine without question. A man who has not already been suborned to any faction, and who cannot possibly be suborned in the future. A man whose only loyalty will be to me, and to our children, and who cannot possibly be suspected of harbouring other loyalties. A man who is intelligent and powerful and skilled in battle. Do you know where I might find such a man, Gentlemen? For I vow I do not. You are my last hope.'

'Hutch is such a man, Diana,' said Starsky. 'He would be perfect, except that he is already married to me.'

Hutch laughed. 'And I am not of Royal blood, Starsky,' he said.

'Royal enough,' said Starsky, loyally. 'Your mother is a friend of the Queen. And you have powerful magic.'

'This potential husband should be of truly Royal blood,' said Hutch. 'There will be enough protests over you marrying an outsider, Lady Diana. At least he should be a prince. The Queen does have sons, and nephews who are princes. But there are factions in your world who would protest because her sons have black skin, and they see blackness as a symbol of evil witchcraft and demonhood.'

'That is arrant nonsense, and troubles me not. Are her sons powerful users of magic?'

'Some of them, yes,' said Hutch.

'Better and better,' said the Queen. 'Will you undertake this mission for me?'

'Of course,' said Hutch. 'Starsky? Wilt thou accompany me?'

'Of course,' said Starsky. I'm not letting you go there alone, he thought. Idiot.

'We should turn back,' said the Queen. 'If we walk too far, someone will come after us, to check on my vital life signs. By the way, I'm giving you both medals, at a ceremony tomorrow. Not only as a diversion and an excuse for inviting you here. You deserve them. If this mission is a success, there are titles in the offing.'

'Our country doesn't allow us to hold titles,' Starsky pointed out.

'Why should I care about what is allowed?' asked the Queen.

***********************************

'We need to plan our approach, Starsky,' Hutch pointed out, as they prepared for bed.

'I'm planning my approach,' said Starsky. 'What's the problem with yours? I've never noticed anything lacking.'

'Lewdster,' said Hutch. 'I speak not of thine eternal interest, but of our visit to my home World. We need a reason for that, though an excuse will do in a pinch.'

'Can't we say we're on vacation?' asked Starsky.

Hutch gaped at him for an astonished moment, then laughed. 'Be thou serious,' he said.

'I am serious,' said Starsky.

'No one in their right mind visits my World for fun, Starsky. No one. We need a reason.'

'Can't we just visit your mother,' Starsky suggested.

'We saw her not a month ago. What has happened since then to warrant a visit? Wait! I know. I just got married, and I'm introducing my Lady Wife to her.'

'Hutch? What Lady Wife? If you mean me….'

'No, Starsky. As thou didst inform me, thou art not my wife, and cannot act the part. I need a woman for that.'

'Mary?' Starsky suggested.

'My very thought,' said Hutch. 'But we must needs convince her, and when we do that, prepare her to play her role, lest she condemn us all to death by stoning in the first two days.'

'That's a tall order,' said Starsky, eyeing Hutch's nakedness. 'Will there be enough time?'

'Of course,' said Hutch. 'We can't leave in the near future. We must needs convince Mary. Then get the license, plan the ceremony….'

'Hold on! License? Ceremony? You're not serious?'

'Serious? Of course I'm serious.'

'But Hutch, you can't marry Mary. What are you talking about?'

'I have to marry her. Starsky, I cannot lie to my mother, nor to my Queen. I can't visit my World under false pretences.'

'Hutch, listen….'

'No. Thou must listen. In spite of everything, I have kept my honour. I know I have disappointed my mother, but I have never lied to her. And I cannot tell her the truth. The Queen said our real mission must remain secret for as long as possible. If I were to tell my mother that I was married, and then she were to find out I was not, she would not be amused.'

Starsky looked at Hutch's face. His protests died in his throat. Hutch's mommy would not be amused if she were lied to. Starsky preferred to keep his entrails where they belonged. 'Okay,' he said. 'So you have to marry a woman. What then?'

'And thou wilt marry her also…Starsky, thou art married to me. Of course thou must marry her, if I do. But we must be contracted for a year, and live together as companions before the marriage is consummated. Remember? So, when we return home, Mary will declare that she has changed her mind, and divorce us, and I will not have broken my vows to thee.'

'And what if she doesn't divorce us?' asked Starsky.

'Of course she will,' said Hutch. 'She doesn't believe in polyandry.'

'Neither do I,' Starsky pointed out. 'Whatever that is.'

'Marrying more than one man at one time,' Hutch explained. 'And I'm sure that thou wilt annoy her sufficiently within the first hour of marriage, that she will be glad to see thee go.'

'And what of thou?' asked Starsky.

'I don't know,' Hutch admitted. 'Mayhap she will take a liking to me, and I shall have to pay her to let me escape.'

'Thou art mine,' said Starsky. 'And I have sufficiently planned my approach. Turn over.'

'Ah, yes,' said Hutch. 'I foresee no difficulties in thy convincing Mary to divorce thee. Hast thou ever lain with a woman?'

'Yes, of course I have,' said Starsky, highly offended.

'Well, I have not, but thou art lucky I am not a woman, I vow. I was well trained in how to approach one, though I have never had occasion to use my training, and such words as those were not recommended to me. How hast thou kept thy prick attached to thy body all these years? Any woman from my World would have cut it off.'

'You were trained?' asked Starsky. 'Did they teach you how to kiss like this?' Starsky demonstrated. A long, slow kiss. A gentle expulsion of his warm breath into his lover's mouth. A tender licking of his lover's lips, and then his tongue. A sweet tickling of his lover's throat.

Hutch moaned.

'Did they teach you how to touch like this?' Starsky continued. He stroked Hutch's back, up and down and up and down, moving his hands lower with each tender stroke. He teased his lover's nipples with his thumbs, until they rose in excited peaks. 'Thou art so beautiful,' said Starsky. 'How did thy teachers keep from doing this?' He began licking, downward and downward and downward. 'How hast thou kept thy cock to thyself so long?' he whispered, in between licks. 'Anyone who sees it must want to steal it away. Not to harm it, but to treasure it.'

Hutch laughed, but he sighed, too. He let his legs fall open to allow his lover's deeper explorations.

'Did they teach you to kiss a lover here?' asked Starsky. He lifted Hutch's legs over his shoulders, exposing that most private place, and kissed the opening in Hutch's body, where he loved to enter in the act of intercourse.

Hutch twitched and moaned.

'Did they teach you to do this?' asked Starsky, again. He thrust his tongue into that sensitive opening, and Hutch cried out.

'Did they? Did they?' Starsky demanded, breathless with excitement.

'No,' moaned Hutch.

'How about this?' asked Starsky.

'Oh, for fuck's sake, Starsky,' Hutch cried out. 'Just get on with it and fuck me.'

'Your slightest wish is my command,' said Starsky.

'Yeah,' said Hutch. 'Yeah.'

It was always a good sign when Hutch lost all of his native elegance of speech, and descended into monosyllables.

Starsky thrust his finger into Hutch's opening, finding that little bump inside that sent Hutch into paroxysms of pleasure. In a few minutes, when Hutch was stretched out enough, Starsky put his cock inside him…

'What did they teach you, anyway?' asked Starsky, when he had finished demonstrating all he knew about that subject, and they had both caught their breaths.

'Thou knowest well,' said Hutch, softly. 'Let me show thee.'

***********************************

Mary Todd sat holding her sleeping baby. She looked up as Starsky and Hutch entered her sitting room, and smiled. 'You're back,' she said. 'I saw you on the news. Queen Diana was giving you medals.'

'Yes,' said Hutch. 'That was satisfying, but embarrassing. And now the Demon Council will hate us all the more.' He didn't sound particularly upset about the prospect.

'Embarrassing?' asked Mary. 'Why embarrassing?' She put her baby to rest in the cradle.

'I need not such things as medals,' said Hutch. 'They are mere trifles, and beneath my notice.'

'Trifles?' asked Starsky. 'I suppose they are. But they're nice to have. A sign that we're appreciated.'

'I know I am appreciated,' said Hutch. 'The Demon Council hates me. That is all the appreciation I need.'

'You are a very strange man,' said Mary Todd, as she tucked the blankets around her sleeping daughter.

'Yes. I am,' said Hutch, slowly. 'And I have a very strange question to ask you, Lady Mary. Will you consider my question seriously?'

'Of course,' said Mary. 'But I keep telling you, there is no need to call me Lady.'

'Ah, but there is. Please sit down, and wait until I explain, an it pleases you.'

'Go ahead,' said Mary, looking more and more curious. She sat down and looked up at Hutch, expectantly.

'Since you have lived here in our World, in our home, have you been unhappy? Has anyone treated you without honour, or respect?'

'No,' said Mary. 'Not once.'

'I have a serious request to make of you, and I cannot explain all my reasons at this time, but I assure that my request will not involve dishonour to your person. Nor will your answer change your position in this house. The matter is entirely up to you.'

'Yes?' said Mary, beginning to look alarmed.

'I wish to know if you will agree to take Starsky and me as your husbands, in name only, for the space of one year or less. After that, you may divorce us. At no time will we attempt to engage in any intimacies with your person. According to the laws of my culture, we could not consummate the marriage for one year, even were it serious.'

Mary sat in stunned silence.

'Those laws don't really apply here, Hutch,' said Starsky, with a grin.

'Whose side art thou on, Starsky?' asked Hutch. 'That's the whole point of this enterprise. It is only the laws of my culture that matter, in this case.'

'You… you want to marry me?' asked Mary.

'I want us to go through a marriage ceremony, merely as a legal contract. We will live under the same roof, exactly as we are doing now. You will sleep in your rooms, and Starsky and I in our own.'

'But… but why?' asked Mary.

'I want to visit my home World,' said Hutch. 'I want to return as a married man, and introduce my Lady Wife to my family. Being a husband will greatly improve my standing in my World. I will be treated as a full adult male for the first time. You will be treated with the greatest honour, as a Wife and a Mother. My family will give you many rich gifts, and your name will be inscribed among the List of Mothers. Your friends will be our friends, and your enemies our enemies, for all time, even after the divorce. What more do you need to know?'

'But… but it would be a sin for us to marry. I am already married, and I can't marry two men at once.'

'Divorce your husband, Lady,' said Hutch. 'It is that simple. He's in another World anyway, and he wants to kill you and take your baby. He is not worth worrying about.'

'I know, but… and you want me to marry both you and David Starsky?'

'In name only. As a temporary measure. You will not lose by granting me this great favour.'

'I can't. I can't do such a sinful thing,' said Mary. 'If you truly wanted to marry me, and leave your sinful life… but you don't. How could you ask me such a thing?'

Hutch bowed his head. 'If that is your will,' he said. He got up and left the room, with great quietness.

Starsky sat and stared at Mary. He shook his head. 'Well,' he said after a moment. 'That has to be the most ungrateful thing I've ever heard or seen. How dare you -- Lady?'

'I'm sorry,' said Mary. 'Hutch told me it was my call.'

'It is. Of course, it is. The marriage wouldn't be legal otherwise. I wouldn't force you to marry him, even if I could. But to brush him aside like that, after he vowed to protect you and your baby with his life? Do you know what you just tossed down as if it were garbage? Do you know what you were being offered in exchange for so little? Your name on a marriage contract, in exchange for an alliance with Hutch's family. An alliance with Hutch. Who do you think you are?'

'Starsky!' said Hutch from the doorway. 'She is a Lady, and within her rights.'

'To you she is,' said Starsky. 'To me she is an ungrateful bitch… no, not because she turned you down. Because of the way she did it. She could have said she would consider your offer, and then come back and say she'd thought about it, and thank you very much, but no. Without all that shit about sin.'

'She doesn't understand, Starsky. She grew up in another World, and our World is strange to her. She is not yet accustomed to our way of life. To her we are sinners.'

'Then she should go back there, if she likes it so much. I thought she was running for her life from that World, and we offered her refuge. And she rewards us by judging us, and calling us sinners!'

Mary jumped up and ran out of the room.

'Starsky,' said Hutch, with the most gentle reproof.

'Don't "Starsky" me,' said Starsky. 'She's a woman. Stop treating her like a little girl. Stop making excuses for her. She's responsible for her own morals, not ours. If you want to marry a woman, find a woman to marry. Not a spoiled child. Your mother would eat her for breakfast.'

Starsky stomped off. The World seemed to be going to Hell fast, he thought. Maybe he and Hutch hadn't beaten the Demon Council after all.

*********************

Hutch found Mary in the courtyard outside the house. It was warm and sunny, but she was shivering.

'Lady, you have upset my mate,' said Hutch. 'That was not wise. You are a woman, but not my Lady Wife. Remember? I am not obliged to obey your every command.'

'Well, I'm sorry,' said Mary. 'But he didn't have to speak to me like that. I'm not an ungrateful bitch.'

'No?' asked Hutch. 'What sort of bitch are you, then?'

'I'm not a bitch at all,' exclaimed Mary. 'What have I done to deserve this?'

'Starsky told you what you did,' said Hutch. 'You should have listened. Mayhap you never pay attention to anything anyone says to you. Mayhap you are an unfit mother, and your husband was right to threaten to take your baby.'

'How dare you?' Mary screamed. 'Don't you dare speak to me like that.'

Hutch laughed. 'That is better,' he said. 'Now you are talking more like a woman of my World, though your voice is too shrill. Moderate it, as though your right to command is unquestioned. You have potential, and I do not know why you want to throw it away, believing in the lies they taught you when you were growing up. What do you know about Starsky and me? Except that we saved your life, and your baby, and offered you a home. I thought you had accepted us as friends.'

'I have,' said Mary. 'I just don't agree with what you do. Together, I mean. I don't understand it.'

'What is there to understand?' asked Hutch. 'We do love each other. How hard is that, to grasp? Have you never loved someone?'

'I loved my husband,' said Mary. 'And he betrayed me.'

'And that hurt, so that now you want to hurt me with your words of hate, as if I were his substitute?'

Mary stretched out her hand. 'No,' she said. 'No I don't. I don't hate you. David is wrong. I'm not ungrateful.'

'Prove it,' said Hutch. 'Your words mean nothing to me. Only actions have meaning. I am giving you one more chance to consider my offer, with some show of politeness. Do you take the time to think on it. Do not reject what I have offered, with so much haste as at the first instance. Then act with the courage of a woman, not the panic of a child.'

*****************************

'No, no. My Lady. Kick like this.' Hutch demonstrated a proper kick once again.

'I'll never learn,' said Mary. 'I told you I couldn't.'

'Anyone can learn,' said Hutch. 'You are not paying attention because you think it isn't important. It is, beyond a doubt.'

'Hutch. What is the point? I couldn't defend myself, if someone attacked me.'

'That is a bad attitude to start with,' said Hutch. 'Listen to me, My Lady. There is no one who cannot be defeated. I myself was killed by a demon. I do not wish for you to think you are unconquerable. That is a dangerous attitude. What I want, is for you to have confidence, and to move with assurance. You are short, so you're closer to the ground, and harder for someone tall to knock down. Aim for their knees, in a fight. With a well-placed kick, you could break a knee. You are compact, and fast. You can duck out of the way more easily than someone tall and thin.'

'Being well-armed will help,' Starsky pointed out. 'I'll start teaching you how to shoot, tomorrow.'

'But will I have to defend myself?' asked Mary. 'I thought you would do that.'

'And we will,' said Hutch. 'But you must needs look the part. If you have husbands, everyone will assume you earned them, and so you do start with an advantage. But if you appear to be weak, and submissive, they will suspect something is wrong, and someone will challenge your right to own us. We could end up minor husbands to a Lady Wife with fully fifteen husbands already, and never escape from my World again. That is one most important reason I have not visited my World in so many years, Starsky. Since you were wondering.'

'I see,' said Starsky.

'When I was young, and untried, I was not so good a catch. But now, as a well-known Demon Hunter, and Traveller….'

'Yes. Good point,' said Starsky.

'So, you see, Lady Mary, you must protect us from poachers. Most of that is just in your attitude. You shouldn't have to really do battle with any women. We won't be there that long, and I shall arrange for escorts whenever we do leave our family lands. But your attitude is important. Look as if you deserve us. Now, kick the bag again.'

Mary kicked.

'That is a little better, but not much. Picture someone you hate. Your former husband, mayhap. Even me, if perchance you still hate me.'

'I don't,' said Mary. 'I never did.'

'But you do resent me. That is well enough. Take out your resentment on the bag, and pretend you are kicking me.'

'I hate my former husband,' said Mary. 'He betrayed me. Kiiiyaaaah!' She kicked the bag again, and screamed in pain.

'There!' said Hutch. 'That was very much better. That is what any husband deserves, if he betrays his wife, for a start. Enough for one day, or you will not be capable of moving tomorrow. Remember that glorious feeling of meting out justice. Keep it in your mind when we visit my World. Now, let us rest.'

They all showered and changed, and met again in Mary's sitting room. Hutch explained more about his culture. Modes of address. The sacredness of daughters and the protection of their names.

'There is a hierarchy of Lady Wives,' he said. 'But also a certain amount of mutual respect. It is necessary, so that society may run smoothly.'

'What about the men?' asked Mary.

'Men fight on behalf of their women,' said Hutch. 'And not usually for themselves. A man's status depends upon his wife. I have been thinking,' he continued.

'Oh, dear,' said Starsky. 'Head for the hills.'

'I am thinking that two husbands may not be enough.'

'Not enough?' squeaked Mary. Then, she began to laugh, as if suddenly she saw the joke. Her situation was no longer troubling to her, it seemed. It had become absurd.

'No, My Lady,' said Hutch. 'Not enough. At least four husbands, I do think. That is a good, round number. Not so many that it appears impossible for someone so young, but enough that you… that we impress people. Wait a moment. I have the very candidates'

Hutch left the room, and returned in a moment with his apprentice Tristan, and Dobey. The other Dobey. Dobey Two, Starsky liked to call him.

'Sit you down,' he said, waving to the couch. 'Both of you.'

Dobey Two smirked. 'I see,' he said. 'I'm moving up in the world, am I? From prisoner to slave to butler to guest? Have I finally paid off my debt to you?'

'Be thou quiet, Dobey,' said Hutch. 'Or I shall send thee back to the kitchen. The Lady Mary has a question to ask of you both.'

'I do?' asked Mary. 'Oh. Yes. I do. Will you marry me? Both of you?'

'We need more husbands,' Starsky explained, with a snicker. 'Hutch wants to impress his relatives.'

'He wants me to look like an important Lady Wife,' Mary added. 'Look at me! I don't know how he thinks I could pull off such a charade.'

'Of course you could, My Lady,' said Hutch. 'Think you on this. Your red hair shows you were born of the dragon's flame. A flame may be small, but it may grow, and devour a whole forest in one day. Your green eyes are the dragon's tears, which fall on the ground in the fierce Northcountry. Your husbands are all great warriors. You must have proved your worth to us, to win our hands. You have a daughter, and you survived childbirth. Many women of my World do not. Only the strongest and the bravest survive that challenge.'

 

*************************

 

The Gate to Hutch's World was quiet at the moment, at least on their side. As Hutch had noted, his World was not a popular vacation spot. He had sent the requisite messages to his family, announcing his intentions to visit, and to introduce his Lady Wife and fellow husbands to them, and received an astonished but delighted reply.

Hutch lined them all up according to protocol. Lady Mary, her daughter in her arms, took the place of honour -- at the centre. Hutch was the Eldest Husband, so he stood at her left, one step back. As Second Husband, Starsky stood to her right. Dobey Two was beside him, and slightly behind. Tristan took his place beside Hutch. They formed a V, Starsky thought, like a flock of geese.

Hutch had chosen their costumes with care. Clothing made a statement, he said, far more in his World than it did in theirs. Lady Mary was dressed in forest green, with crimson and gold embroidery. She complained the colours were garish.

'Especially with my red hair,' she laughed.

'It may be garish to your eyes, but it will not appear at all garish to my people. Of a certainty, they all wear such colours as a matter of course. We are making a statement. A bold statement, but not a challenging one. If you were to wish to issue a challenge, you would dress all in crimson and gold. The deep green mutes your statement. You are on a mission of peace, not war. But you are capable of war, if need be.'

Hutch wore deep blue, to signify that he was the ambassador of the family. Starsky and the others were dressed in black.

'Black as the claws of the dragon,' said Hutch. 'You are our warriors, and that is all in all. No one will look to you for answers to their questions on our purposes. You need not ever speak, but should refer all such questions to me.'

Starsky had never seen Hutch quite like this. He was in his element, planning everything down to the last thread, syllable, and gesture. Even the buttons on Starsky's jacket had been carefully chosen to symbolize something or other -- something or other far beyond Starsky's understanding.

'So I'm the dragon's claws, am I?' he'd asked Hutch last night. 'Do I get to claw your back? And which part of the dragon art thou, by the way?'

'I am no part of the dragon,' declared Hutch, shaking his finger under Starsky's nose. 'And neither art thou. Heretic! We are men. We cannot be the dragon. Only women can be the dragon. I have told thee this before. Listen this time, an it please thee.'

Hutch had gone on and on about the fine points of dragon theology, until Starsky shut him up by kissing him silly.

Now Hutch checked them all over carefully, and appeared satisfied by what he saw. He bowed to their Lady Wife.

'Do I have your permission to open the Gate?' he asked.

Lady Mary nodded. 'Do so,' she said.

Hutch smiled. 'I give you thanks, My Lady,' he said. Then he began the incantations that opened the doorway into another World.

The Gate opened, like a red velvet curtain drawing back. The scene behind the curtain was misty, and distant, like an old photograph in black and white. Soft music issued forth.

'Lutes,' said Hutch. 'The lutes of Ani-lbow.' He bowed again to Lady Mary, and said, 'Shall we enter the realm of the dragon?'

Lady Mary nodded, a bit nervously, but she bravely stepped forward, and they all followed her, in formation.

*********************

Hutch had shown them maps and a globe of his World.

'It's mostly water,' noticed Dobey Two. 'Does everyone live on this one island?' He pointed to the small continent in the very centre of the World. It looked like a green jewel, floating in a sea of blue.

'As far as we know,' said Hutch. 'Long ago, explorers set out, looking for these islands, which we did know of from legend.' Hutch indicated a scattering of islands far on the other side of the World from the inhabited lands. 'No one ever returned to tell of their success, or of their failure. It is assumed that they did die, but others believe they found a safe haven, and their descendents live there still. I am one of those,' he added. 'History tells us that the explorers were led by a Lady from the Northcountry. Here.' He showed them a map of the inhabited lands. 'The Northcountry is harsh. The dragon's tears fall as green ice. The people there have red hair, like yours, Lady Mary. You look very much like unto one of their Ladies, as I told you. People will see you, and see Lady Duma.'

Starsky didn't know if Mary looked like Lady Duma, whoever she was, but she did look small and brave as she led them through the Gate. It seemed that most, if not all, of Lady Hutchinson's husbands, children and other relations were waiting for them in some sort of public park, around the Gate. They had set up tents, on the dark green grass, in the bright sunlight. A breeze blew to them the scent of alien flowers from an arbour. The sky was mauve.

Lady Hutchinson was dressed in white, with gold and red embroidery. Her Eldest Husband wore dark blue. Only a few of her husbands were dressed in black. It seemed the Lady welcomed this visit.

Hutch bowed to his mother. Lady Mary curtsied, very gracefully, as a Daughter-in-law to an important Lady Mother. Starsky, Tristan and Dobey Two stood impassively, as Hutch had instructed them to do. As warriors, dressed in black, their sole purpose was to guard their party. No one would expect them to take part in the reception, even to bow. To bow, left them vulnerable to attack.

Starsky watched, as Hutch and Lady Mary stepped forward to be greeted by Lady Hutchinson. They both knelt, and Hutch kissed the ground at his mother's feet.

'Very well done,' said Lady Hutchinson. She smiled, and looked around at the assembled multitudes. 'I have video cameras set up, to record the scene for posterity, and I do believe it might win an award or two at the next festival.'

'Lady Mother?' asked Hutch. He sounded curious and amused.

The Lady smiled, even more broadly. 'I am very pleased to see thee again, my dear,' she continued. 'And to meet thy charming Lady Wife. Thou hast a daughter, I see,' she continued, as if she had never seen Mary before in her life. She reached out a hand, and touched the baby's hair, very gently.

'Yes, Lady Mother,' said Mary, softly. 'Her name is Rosemary. I hope you approve?'

'I do,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'I approve of the entire show.' She waved her hand to the musicians who were waiting on the sidelines. 'Play!' she said. 'I have written an ode to celebrate this great event. I expect it to win an award or two, as well.'

****************************

It was evening. Lady Hutchinson had insisted they all join her in her private sitting room. 'The windows provide a fortunate view of the setting sun,' she told them. 'I try to watch it every night, for the flames of the dragon.'

Now, they sat in the large bay window, watching the sun set. 'Dost thou hear the dragon stir?' asked Lady Hutchinson, of her son.

'I do,' said Hutch. 'But she is at peace. She will not arise to look upon the stars tonight.'

'Ah,' said the Lady. 'I thought that thou didst hear her voice, and could tell me of her mind.'

'Lady Mother?' asked Hutch, again, sounding worried this time.

'No, no. Be thou at peace as well. I dreamt of thy birth, and always knew thou wouldst be a wondrous child. I will keep thy secret, for now. On one condition.'

'Yes, Lady Mother,' said Hutch. 'You want to know about my marriage, and my new family. I knew you would be curious.'

'Curious?' asked Lady Hutchinson. 'Yes. One might say I am curious. Thou didst swear that thou wert bonded to thy mate, David Starsky, and would ever be faithful unto him until death. Yet, now I find thou hast married this innocent child. Aye, she is a mother, indeed. But she knows nothing of our ways, and could not survive one day here on her own. Be thou at peace,' she said to Mary. 'I will protect thee. But I would know why my son hast married thee.'

'Lady Mother, all I know is what Hutch has told you already. I am sorry,' said Mary.

'I have been faithful to David Starsky,' said Hutch. 'We are married to our Lady in name only. We have only been contracted for the space of one week, and so it could be no other way.'

'I see,' said Lady Hutchinson, in tones suggesting she did not see at all. 'Thou still hast not answered my question.'

'If you must know,' Hutch continued. 'I am visiting you on the recommendation of my physician. He thought it was a good idea.'

'Why all this mystery, then? Why go to the trouble of marrying this woman, merely to pay me a visit? Why not simply speak the whole truth?'

'What?' asked Hutch. 'Tell everyone my doctor has ordered me to visit my mother? Lady Mother! I love you, but I am a grown man, and now at last everyone will recognize that fact. Now, at last, lady wives will stop trying to add me to their retinues.'

'Yes,' said Lady Hutchinson, slowly. 'Thou hast a point. And yet, I think me there is still more unspoken to this situation.'

Hutch stared back at her, his face blank. Starsky did the same. Lady Mary and the others looked as confused as they truly were. Lady Hutchinson shrugged. 'There is more to this situation than what thou hast chosen to reveal,' she said. 'But I will trust thy judgement. For now. In the meantime, I bid you all welcome. You are my beloved son. Your Lady Wife, your mate, and your fellow husbands are welcome also. Is there anything I might arrange for thine entertainment?'

'For tonight, I am content,' said Hutch. 'But I might wish to pay a few visits to some friends of ours, over the next few days.'

'Ah,' said his Lady Mother. 'I will provide thee with a suitable escort. If thou wishest.'

'I do so wish,' said Hutch. 'And I thank you for that thought.'

Lady Hutchinson smiled, and looked out the window at the setting sun. 'Look!' she said. 'The flames of the dragon. A good omen.'

*****************************

'Our first visit should be to the Queen,' Hutch offered, casually, at breakfast the next morning.

'Yes,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'T'would be best if it were. But you will need court dress, for that. I should send messengers to announce our coming. We don't have to ask permission,' she told Lady Mary. 'For I am one of the Queen's Advisors. But we should let her know ahead of time.'

Lady Hutchinson had been giving them all lessons in etiquette since they awoke that morning. Starsky appreciated the advice, and listened carefully.

'Some of my old clothes should still be around the place, should they not?' asked Hutch.

'Oh. My dear,' said his mother. 'Thou must have grown an inch or two at least since thou didst leave home, and put on weight, besides. All muscle, of course. But I doubt thou could fit into anything.'

'They might fit Tristan, though,' Hutch suggested. 'That will save time.'

'Let me take care of these matters,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'David? Come with me, and lend thine aid?'

Starsky loped along behind Lady Hutchinson. He could almost hear her thinking. At any moment she would open her mouth, and…

'David?' she asked. 'What art thou, and my son, up to?'

Starsky stopped dead in the hallway. Lady Hutchinson walked on a few paces, discovered that Starsky wasn't following her, and turned around. She laughed.

'Oh, dost thou not look like a rabbit staring down a fox? 'Twas a casual question, and not an inquisition.'

'A casual question, Lady Mother? If thou sayest so.' Starsky caught up to her, and decided they should walk side by side, the better to reinforce the rough equality that had always existed between them. 'Hutch is always up to something, Milady,' he said.

'I attempted to question that child you married,' the lady went on.

'Child?' asked Starsky. 'She's no child. Hutch and me aren't perverts.'

'I crave thy pardon. I intended no such insult. 'Tis my advanced age showing. She is -- how old? Eighteen, she informs me. Merciful dragon! I would have you cease deflecting my questions, an it please thee. I attempted to question Lady Mary, to no avail. I do believe she knows nothing much of anything. Then that monster Dobey, who imprisoned my son. I would have him killed, not added to my family. But Ken tells me the man is sorry for his actions. I would hope so. Next, spoke I to Tristan. Didst know he was a demon in human form?'

'Yes,' said Starsky.

'My son is mad,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'But he hears the dragon's voice. The dragon speaks to him, mind to mind. How then might I argue with him? He has become a law unto himself. But at what cost, and to whom? What dangerous game are you playing?'

'Lady… Lady Mother. Hutch loves you, and I think I love you, as my own mother. We're not plotting against you, if that's what you think.'

'I know not what to think,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'I am in murky waters, here, and I cannot see to the bottom.'

'Dost thou trust the dragon?' asked Starsky.

'Of course!' said Lady Hutchinson. She stopped, and turned to look at Starsky, staring into his eyes, with eyes that saw clearly enough, despite her claim of not being able to see.

'The dragon speaks to Hutch, mind to mind,' said Starsky. 'If he were doing something evil, she would rise up, and destroy him, wouldn't she? If she can read his mind?'

'Mayhap,' said the Lady. 'But thou might do good, or act with good intentions, and thine actions might have evil results.'

'True,' said Starsky. He leaned forward, staring hard at Lady Hutchinson in return. 'But does that mean we should do nothing, in case the things we do go wrong? Should we sit with our hands folded, and hope all goes well? That could lead to evil, too.'

'Wisdom comes in strange packages,' commented the Lady. 'As here we see. I will trust thee, for now. Will I ever learn what you have been up to?'

'Of course,' said Starsky. 'Any day now.'

****************************

The Queen's Residence shimmered under a bright sun, like dragon scales. Dragon lights coursed across the mauve sky, as they rode in through the gates.

The Queen herself greeted them, smiling benevolently. 'Dear Kenneth,' she said. 'So you have married at last. A woman, I mean,' she added, with a smile for Starsky.

Starsky smiled back, with benevolence of his own.

This was a court function, and they were all dressed accordingly. Black garbed warriors were not appropriate. To suggest that the Queen would attack one's party was to invite that very attack. Thus, Lady Hutchinson and Lady Mary wore white gowns. The men were dressed in dark blue.

The Queen wore gold, which shone against her coal black skin in an almost barbaric display of grandeur and beauty. Her own retinue of husbands, came clad in dark green or blue.

'Do you recognize any of her sons?' asked Starsky, when he had a moment to speak with Hutch.

'The older ones, the ones around my own age, have all married, and they live far away,' said Hutch. 'There are two or three younger sons, I believe, but I do not see them here. We should stroll around the grounds, and check out some of the outlying buildings.'

'Can we do that?' asked Starsky, nervously.

'Of course,' said Hutch. 'Why not? I practically grew up here. I was educated with the older princes, and played with them. I remember there were two younger sons. There may be more now, but they'd be children, and I don't think….'

'Me neither,' said Starsky.

Hutch spoke to his mother, and Mary, telling them he was going to show Starsky some of his childhood haunts.

'Lady Mary looks quite happy and comfortable,' he commented to Starsky as they strolled off.

'She looks like the cat that got into the cream,' Starsky replied. 'Why shouldn't she be happy? Men bowing and scraping to her, like she was a goddess. That dress your mother found for her must have cost a fortune. Everyone oohing and aahing over her baby, like they'd never seen one before.'

'Daughters are precious here, Starsky. They are our future.'

'I know,' said Starsky, accepting the gentle rebuke. 'I'm sorry.'

'Art thou jealous, perchance?' asked Hutch. 'Dost thou truly believe there is more to this marriage than convenience and our own agendas?'

'No,' said Starsky. 'I'm not jealous.'

'Thy tone does not convince me,' said Hutch. 'Despite thy words.' He pulled Starsky into a nearby arbour, and added physical persuasion to underline the truth of his words.

'I love thee,' he said, between kisses. 'And thou shouldst know it well. Even though I do become impatient with thee, betimes, my words mean nothing. I remember those days in that terrible alien World without thee. 'Twas like living trapped under solid ice, with the air running out, and no hope of rescue.'

Starsky chuckled. 'Hutch,' he said. 'Sweet angel. You don't need to explain.'

They kissed long and deeply, and Starsky ran his fingers through Hutch's golden hair.

Someone entered the arbour, saw them embracing, and stopped dead in his tracks. The young man stared at them, his jaw dropping nearly to the ground.

'What's the matter, kid?' asked Starsky, looking at the youth over Hutch's shoulder. 'Haven't you seen people kiss before?'

Hutch pulled away slightly, and turned to look at their visitor. He laughed at the sight of the boy's dark face. 'My lord, Prince Rezik,' he said, and bowed.

The young man looked startled. He seemed a bit awkward and young for his age, as if he hadn't been out much in company, and was dressed in a rather disheveled fashion, but there was something charming about him, nevertheless. He bowed politely in return, though not as low as Hutch had bowed.

'Thou art Kenneth Hutchinson,' he said. 'I was supposed to be at the reception, but I forgot. I pray you will both forgive me.'

'I'm sorry I called you a kid,' said Starsky, with a bow of his own. 'I didn't know you were royalty.'

The young prince smiled. 'Few people ever do,' he said. 'We are not offended,' he added, stressing the royal "we", with a sardonic smile.

'This is my mate, David Starsky,' said Hutch, with a deal less ceremony than he used with women. 'I was showing him around the grounds.'

'I noticed,' said the prince. He seemed to have recovered his equilibrium, and now seemed less unsophisticated. 'And I apologize for interrupting the tour,' he concluded. He turned to go.

'No, don't apologize,' said Hutch. 'I really was showing Starsky around, until we were distracted. Why don't you walk about with us?'

'Sincerely?' asked Prince Rezik. 'I thought you would prefer to be alone.'

'We have plenty of time for that,' said Hutch. 'Do we not, Starsk?' he asked.

'Yes,' said Starsky, catching Hutch's eye. 'I agree.'

'So please walk with us,' Hutch continued. 'Unless you were hoping to meet someone else here in the arbour, of course?'

Prince Rezik stared at Hutch, with a "Who? Me?" expression written all over his face. The young man was truly artless and transparent, thought Starsky.

'Why should I be meeting someone in the arbour?' he asked, innocently.

'I thought perhaps a young lady or gentleman had claims upon your attention,' Hutch explained, gently.

'Ah. Thou dost believe I possess a secret lover? Someone with whom to exchange sweet kisses, as dost thou with thy mate? Alas, no, though I wish that I did. You looked very happy together.' He ducked his head shyly. 'And I do regret that I interrupted your happiness.'

'No one could do that,' said Starsky.

*******************************

'So, thou didst marry only to increase thy social standing?' asked the prince, as they strolled about the grounds. He seemed a little disappointed.

'Not exactly,' said Hutch. 'I've never cared a fergyll for that. But I needed an excuse, and this one seemed reasonable enough. Few would question it, unless they were the romantic kind. The truth is something else entirely.'

'I don't understand,' said the prince.

'Of course you do not,' said Hutch. 'Do you have a place, usually private to yourself, where it is unlikely anyone would attempt to disturb you? My mate and I would speak with you, in such a place, if you would be so kind as to agree.'

Prince Rezik graciously agreed. Though he appeared a little curious and confused, he hid it well enough. He led them to the stables, and the mews behind them.

'I've been breeding dragon eagles,' he said. 'I have a mated pair, and they finally raised chicks last month. Look!' He showed them two young fledglings, just out of the nest.

Starsky had seen dragon eagles flying overhead once or twice. Hutch had told him they were very rare in this region, but that a few wild pairs still remained.

'We've tried to keep them as wild as possible,' said the prince. 'Their parents roam free to hunt, but return to the nest, because of the chicks. They accept me, as a certain kind of servant, I suppose, and they deign to eat from my hand on occasion. I think they own me, as much as I own them. More, perchance.'

'Is falconry your only sport?' asked Hutch.

'No,' said the young prince. 'I've been trained in riding, fighting, and necromancy, of course. The usual royal pastimes. But I like to spend most of my free time here. I have my personal library in this room.' He showed them a small library of books, most of which looked well-used.

The prince sat down in a comfortable old chair, and indicated that Starsky and Hutch should do so, as well. 'Well,' he said. 'Now that you have me alone, what is this great mystery you want me to solve. You have asked no end of questions.'

'Forgive me, my lord,' said Hutch.

'No, no. I am flattered, I vow. No one has ever paid so much attention to me, not for years. I am merely the youngest son, and not of much importance. One would think you were courting me. If so, I am even more flattered. But I don't think my mother would agree.'

'You say you were trained in necromancy?' asked Hutch.

The prince listed patiently, and smiled. He nodded. 'That I was,' he said.

'If you would allow me to draw my Demon knife, I would show you something,' Hutch continued.

The prince waved his hand. 'Do so,' he said.

Hutch drew his knife, and cut his palm. The red mist grew at his command, and spread out around them its protective shield.

'Very interesting,' said the prince. 'But I can perform such feats myself.'

'Ah,' said Hutch. 'I did hope so, indeed. But now that no one might be able to hear our words, I can tell you our true purpose in coming here. You said that you wished for a lover. Do your interests extend to women, or to men only?'

'My interests most certainly extend to women,' said the prince. 'And I deeply wish to be married. For love, if possible. But the possibilities are limited at the moment.'

'Why is that?' asked Hutch.

The prince stared at him for a moment, but smiled, and shrugged. 'It seems that thou hast reasons for thy so very personal questions,' he said.

'I do, my lord. I pray you grant me your pardon.'

'Granted,' said the prince. 'I am, as I noted, my mother's youngest son. All the suitable noble ladies have been gifted with sons already. Either my mother shows favouritism, by giving me to a lady who already possesses one of my brothers as her husband, or my mother grants my hand to someone younger and unsuitable. I care not, as long as I find myself with a wife I can love and honour. But there are political questions, it seems.'

'Ah,' said Hutch. 'If your mother were to show favouritism to one noble lady, it might be taken as an indication that your mother has chosen an heir to the throne.'

'Thou art a seer,' said the prince.

'Not at all,' said Hutch, humbly.

The prince laughed. 'But until a solution appears, I must needs remain unwed. Unless I choose to elope with someone unsuitable, of course. Tell me something, an it please thee? 'Tis a personal question, and thou might not wish to answer.'

'I have asked personal questions of you,' said Hutch. 'It seems only fair to give you your turn.'

'Would it be worth it? To risk my mother's wrath, I mean. Is love truly so wonderful as the stories claim?'

'It is,' said Hutch. 'Love is worth any amount of fear and pain and suffering. But that is only my opinion. Perhaps it is not so for everyone.'

Starsky spoke up for the first time. 'I would face down the dragon herself,' he said, simply. 'To claim Hutch's love.'

'I see,' said Prince Rezik.

Hutch took a small hand-held computer out of his pocket, and handed it to the prince. 'Look on the image of this noble lady,' he said. 'And tell me if you think her fair.'

************************  
'Ah. Dear Kenneth, and David Starsky,' said the Queen, as they returned to the party. 'And at last dost thou make an appearance, my son.'

'Yea, Mother,' said Prince Rezik. 'I am here.' The prince bowed.

'Better late than not at all,' his mother noted.

'My lord Prince Rezik was showing us his dragon eagles, My Lady Queen,' said Hutch. 'We appreciated his generosity. Did we not, Starsky?' said Hutch.

'Hmm? Oh, yes. Those birds are something else,' Starsky answered. Something fierce, he thought. I would never take one of them on my wrist, glove or not. Hutch had done so. The claws of the female had pierced the glove, and Hutch had never flinched. Starsky had kissed the wounds, and Prince Rezik had stared, and sighed.

'I can see why love would conquer death,' he had said. 'Do you think Queen Diana could grow to love me like that, if we were to marry?'

'Queen Diana is prepared to love her husband, and to give him all her heart,' said Hutch.

'Then tell the noble lady that I will love her, too, if she will accept me. Show her my picture, and ask if I might find favour in her eyes.'

The prince looked a bit dreamy, now. He was staring off into space, probably imagining romantic encounters in arbours, and sweet kisses, thought Starsky. Men of this world were not supposed to have carnal thoughts until they married. Hutch swore they did not, and that the pleasures of sex were all academic to them, until the bond of marriage set them free. Starsky found that hard to believe.

Hutch leaned down and murmured in his mother's ear, that he supposed they should leave for home, soon. Lady Hutchinson looked surprised, but laughed easily, and agreed. She called to her retinue of husbands, and glanced at Lady Mary.

Mary was still a little uncertain about her role, which in this instance was to gather her husbands around her, and declare her intention to return home. Hutch caught Starsky's eye, and nodded in Mary's direction. They took up their places at her side, but Tristan and Dobey Two were still off to the side, talking to their fellow guests.

'Thine husbands appear to have deserted thee, Lady,' said a voice behind them.

Hutch turned. He bowed. 'Lady Frohlich,' he said. 'Forgive me, but we have not deserted our Lady Wife. We are right here, as you can see.' He bowed again.

Mary turned as well, seeming to remember her role. 'Lady Frohlich,' she repeated, nodding. 'My husbands have not deserted me, as dear Kenneth has so clearly stated. My junior husbands are merely forgetful. We are newly married. They will learn in time.'

'Ah, yes,' said Lady Frohlich. 'Very newly married. And thou art so very young, besides. But… thou hast a daughter. What is her name?'

'Rosemary,' said Mary.

Hutch stepped closer to Mary, and gripped her shoulder. This was one of the first things he had warned her about.

'I suppose thou art sure 'tis thine,' said Lady Frohlich. 'Yet, is she the child of any of these men, if you are all so newly wed?'

'Of course not,' said Mary. 'Her father is not here, today.'

'And where is he, then?' asked Lady Frohlich. She was advancing on Mary, slowly, a bit as a cat might advance on a mouse.

Starsky set his shoulder against Hutch's, and glared at the elder Lady, who ignored him. She was concentrating on her supposed victim.

Mary tossed her red curls. 'My first husband?' she asked dismissively. 'Why, I disposed of him. The only good thing he ever did, was give me this darling girl. So, I picked out four other men instead. I like them much better.' She laughed, gaily. 'The more husbands, the better. They keep each other in line.'

Lady Hutchinson laughed, too. 'Very well done, my dear,' she said. Tristan and Dobey Two noticed Hutch glaring at them from a distance, and hurried back to their stations. They all bowed and curtsied to the Queen, and made their farewells.

**************************

'I thought she was going to eat me,' said Mary. But she was giggling.

'You did very well, Lady Wife,' said Hutch. 'Tristan and Dobey, on the other hand.' He glared at them, again.

'Don't be too hard on them,' said Mary. 'We were taken a bit by surprise. But now, I'm not quite so afraid of standing up to these women. It wasn't so bad as I feared. And she didn't eat me.'

'She still might,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'And let me give thee a small piece of advice. 'Tis not wise to give away the name of one's daughter so easily. Did not thy husband warn thee?'

'Oh! Yes he did, but I forgot,' said Mary. 'In my world, that is no problem. Will she be in any danger?'

'We'll guard her from danger,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'Do not worry, but do thou watch thyself, and try not to be alone with Lady Frohlich. Though she might challenge thee in public, at least then you could choose combat by champion.'

'Yes,' said Hutch. 'And then she might eat one of us. The very thought makes my balls creep back into my belly. So avoid all future combat, an it please you.' Hutch shuddered, elaborately.

'Art thou planning to pay more visits to noble houses?' asked Lady Hutchinson. 'Or did thy talk with little Prince Rezik conclude thy business, whatever it might be?'

'Prince Rezik is charming,' said Hutch. 'We had a very interesting conversation, did we not, Starsky?'

'Yes,' said Starsky. 'His dragon eagles are… unbelievable. Is it true that when they fight, they breathe fire?'

'Quite true,' said Lady Hutchinson, impatiently. 'I have witnessed it myself.'

'Hmmm. I guess that's why they have scales instead of feathers.'

Lady Hutchinson was tapping her foot on the floor, looking stormy. Starsky thought she might burst into flames herself at any moment.

Fortunately, at that moment, a bell rang out, deep and long, echoing over the valley.

'Demons!' the noble lady announced. 'A demon attack.'

Bells were going off all over the Hutchinson homestead. Hutch whipped out his Demon killing knife, and Starsky followed suit. He would much rather fight demons, than face Lady Hutchinson in her present frustration.

Tristan and Dobey Two pulled their own weapons.

'You should stay here, where it's safe, My Lady Wife,' said Hutch to Mary. 'An it please you.'

'It pleases me just fine,' said Mary. 'I know nothing of demon hunting. But, are we in any danger?' She ran to the door with them, to see what was going on. Lady Hutchinson's husbands were fighting a small band of insurgent demons. They didn't appear to be having much difficulty.

Hutch smiled. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'These things do happen, on occasion. But 'tis nothing serious. Go watch over the baby. All manner of thing shall be well.' He and Starsky leapt into the fray. The demons fought hard, but the Hutchinson army was too strong for them, and they were beating the demons back with ease.

Of a sudden, all the assembled multitude of demons screamed -- but in ecstasy rather than pain. They flew up into the air with a flourish of wings, and disappeared.

'What just happened?' asked Dobey Two.

'These were demon slaves,' Tristan explained. 'Their owner has died, and they have been set free.' He smiled. 'Sorry,' he said to Hutch. 'Despite my allegiance to thee, I cannot help but feel a certain satisfaction at the liberation of demon slaves. I would rather they were dead, than living in such servitude.'

'No need for sorrow,' said Hutch. 'At least the battle is now over, and the balance of the victory seems to be on our side. Is anyone badly hurt? Starsky? Art thou well?'

'I have one or two scratches,' said Starsky. 'But I'm fine.'

'Let us go back to the house, and I shall care for thy wounds,' said Hutch. He put his arm around Starsky's shoulder, and they strolled back to the house. Lady Hutchinson followed.

They were greeted at the door by Mary. She was pale, covered in blood, and clutching her baby.

'I think… I think I killed a demon,' she gasped.

'Where?' asked Starsky.

'In Rosemary's room,' said Mary. She pointed down the hall, to the nursery. 'I went to check on the baby, as Hutch said. There was someone in the room. Or something. Dressed all in black. Bending over her cradle. I was terrified. I don't know how I did it. I don't even remember doing it. But I pulled one of the swords off the wall, and cut off its head. The demon's head. Blood. Blood everywhere. I think I'm going to throw up.'

'Please don't, My Lady Wife,' said Hutch. He bowed to her with more genuine respect than he'd ever shown. 'You did very well. Keep your head, for the baby's sake. You're going to need it. Listen. Sit you down, and listen.' He led her to a chair. 'You say you cut off the demon's head with a sword?'

'Yes,' said Mary. 'I don't know how I lifted the sword, at all. But my baby needed me. I'd kill any number of demons for her.'

'Spoken like a true woman,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'But that was no demon. A demon cannot be beheaded with a sword. Only killed with one of these knives.' She pulled out her own Demon killing knife. 'The intruder must have been human. Hold on! Be thou steady. 'Tis no problem. Thou wert justified in thine actions.'

'Yes,' said Hutch. 'But who dared invade our very home?'

He stormed off into the baby's nursery, his eyes on fire. The room was awash in blood. A corpse lay on the floor, the head some feet away from its proper place upon the shoulders. Hutch pulled the black mask off the face, and stared into Lady Frohlich's sightless eyes.

'I wondered why there were weapons on the walls of a nursery,' said Mary, from the doorway. 'It didn't seem right.'

'Starsky? Could you pull down one of those pikes?' asked Hutch, indicating the large arsenal that was indeed adorning the wall.

Starsky took down a large, heavy pike, and handed it to Hutch. 'What do you need it for?' he asked. 'She looks dead enough to me.'

Hutch didn't answer, at least in words. He picked up the disembodied head, and stuck it on the end of the pike. 'Hold this for me,' he said.

'Sure thing,' said Starsky. 'Uh… Hutch? You aren't going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?'

'What do you think I'm going to do?' asked Hutch. He ripped open Lady Frohlich's belly, and pulled out her entrails. 'This maybe?'

Starsky could hear retching noises behind him, but kept his eyes straight ahead. I knew I wasn't exactly married to Little Lord Fauntleroy, he thought.

'Lady Wife? Would you wish to drape these over our doorposts yourself, or shall I?'

'Mmmph,' said Mary, rather indistinctly.

'Very well,' said Hutch. 'I'll do it for you. This time.'

'This time?' wailed Mary. 'There won't be any other time.'

'There may well be,' said Hutch. 'We'll talk about that later.'

'No. Not later. Not ever. I have to go wash. I'm covered in blood.'

'And the blood must stay where it is, for now,' said Hutch. 'Tristan! Help our Lady Wife to sit down. She's feeling tired after battle. Dobey! Go change into thy black clothes, and find Tristan's and Starsky's black clothing for them. Starsky? Come with me a moment? An it please thee?'

Starsky followed Hutch to the doorway of the Hutchinson homestead. He watched as Hutch draped the steaming entrails over the posts.

'Nice,' he commented.

'I am glad thou dost agree,' said Hutch. He took the head-adorned pike, and leant it against the doorway. There was an unholy light in his eyes. 'Art thou with me, Starsky? Art thou prepared to do battle at my side?'

'Always,' said Starsky. 'What is it you want me to do?'

'I would thou shouldst stay by me. I need thy strength. That is all in all.'

'You got it,' said Starsky.

'Then go change,' said Hutch. 'Put on thy battle gear. I have to change myself. Blue is no longer the colour of the day.'

'Red?' asked Starsky.

'Blood red,' said Hutch, as he went to change.

Mary was sitting in the nursery, holding her baby and weeping.

'I know this is difficult for you, my child,' Lady Hutchinson was saying. 'But we have no choice.'

'No,' said Hutch. 'We have no choice. Listen to me, Lady Wife….'

'Stop calling me that,' said Mary. 'I don't like it.'

'I pray you will forgive me, Lady Wife,' said Hutch. 'But it no longer matters what you like or dislike. You have killed the Lady Frohlich. The Lady Frohlich is dead. Long live the Lady Frohlich. Do you understand me?'

'No! I don't understand you. I want to go home!' she wailed.

'We are going home, as soon as your troops are ready. Your new home. Here! Take up the sword. Hold it. You are a woman, and a warrior. You have killed the Lady Frohlich in battle. Now, you must claim her lands, and her husbands.'

'What? I can't do that,' said Mary.

'You can and you must. Listen. There isn't time for this conversation, but you must needs know this much. There will be a civil war over the Frohlich lands, if you do not claim them. This World will be torn apart. The Hutchinson lands will be invaded, because we failed in our duty to prevent the war, and because we foisted the worst sort of impostor upon society -- a Lady Wife who was incapable of performing her duties. Starsky will die. My mother, and all my fathers and brothers and sisters will die. You will die the most horrible death of all -- after watching your baby die. Is this what you want? Is this the sort of woman you are?'

Mary gaped at Hutch. 'No!' she said. 'Of course I don't want that.'

'Then take the sword. Get on your feet and take the sword. You used it to defend your baby. Now it is yours. You can't do such a thing, and then not accept the consequences.'

'No,' said Mary. She closed her eyes, and seemed to gather all her strength. 'I can't do that,' she said. 'But I'm not a warrior. I'm not like your women. Not strong.'

'You are strong,' said Hutch. 'You are a warrior. You defended your baby, against an armed opponent.'

'You are never alone,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'You defended this family's honour. You are a true Lady Wife, and we will ride beside you. Eldest Husband! Is all prepared?'

'It is, My Lady,' said Hutch's Eldest Father. He was dressed in blood red, and carried two blood red capes over his arm. One, he draped over Lady Hutchinson's shoulders. The other, he handed to Hutch.

Hutch bowed to Mary, then draped the cloak over her blood-stained dress. 'Come now,' he said. 'And claim what is yours.'

 

***************************

 

They rode to the Frohlich homestead, under a darkening sky.

'We must stake our claim before nightfall,' Hutch explained to Mary. 'I know this is difficult for you.'

'Do you?' asked Mary. 'You have no idea.'

'Thou. Address me as "thou",' said Hutch.

'What difference does it make?' asked Mary. 'It's silly. Talking like a pilgrim, or something.'

'A pilgrim? I know nothing of pilgrims, but I do know that you entirely misunderstand the matter,' said Hutch. 'The words we use to address each other are important, and they do make a difference. You are a woman. You take your husbands into your body, and carry children inside your womb. Then you send them out into the world, to do your will. You are the lands, the family, the future. You are no longer an individual, and cannot think of yourself as if you were. You contain multitudes. That is why I told you that your own feelings do not matter. This be no silly game. You are a quiver full of arrows. I am one of those arrows. The chief arrow, in point of fact. Address me as "thou". Do it!'

'Thou! Thou! Thou!' said Mary. 'Art thou satisfied?'

'Not yet,' said Hutch. 'We are coming upon the Frohlich gates. Don't forget our respective roles again.'

'I'm sorry,' said Mary. 'It's my fault we're in this position. I forgot about the names of children being sacred, only to be shared with the family. If I hadn't told Lady Frohlich….'

'You are Lady Frohlich,' said Hutch. 'The former Lady Frohlich is dead, but that wasn't your fault. It was her own fault, because of her vaunting ambition. She saw you as an easy target, but you are not. You are stronger than you know, and I think I recognized that from the first. The day we met, you offered to do anything I asked, if only I would not hurt your baby. Also, you have me, and Starsky. We are a formidable team. Look, you! There be the gates of the Frohlich homestead, your new home. The sun is just about to set. I see you have a welcoming committee. Announce to them your purpose, as I told you.'

'I have come to claim my lands, my home, my children,' said the new Lady Frohlich, in as loud a voice as she could muster. 'Eldest Husband! Do thou my will.'

Hutch climbed down from his mount. Starsky followed. He put his shoulder against Hutch's, as if they were already in battle. He watched the fortifications of the Frohlich homestead, for stray arrows. If I were to die, he thought, it should be like this.

Hutch planted the pike holding the former Lady Frohlich's head into the black earth before the white stone walls. He called out in a loud voice, 'The new Lady Frohlich demands entrance. Open the gates!'

The gates stayed closed.

'Our Lady Wife has defeated your former lady in battle,' Hutch continued. 'She is your new Lady, by law. Open the gates!'

The gates stayed closed.

'Our Lady Wife has appointed me to be her messenger and champion,' called Hutch for the third time. 'She has demanded that I do her will. Open the gates, or I will open them myself.'

The gates stayed closed. A hail of arrows was the only answer. Starsky flung himself in front of Hutch, in time to protect him from one arrow that was about to find its mark. Instead of piercing Hutch's unprotected throat, it hit Starsky's hand, instead.

'Art thou well?' asked Hutch.

'A scratch, that's all,' Starsky answered, pulling the arrow free, with feigned casualness.

'Thou art bleeding,' said Hutch. He touched the scratch, smearing the blood. 'They have drawn blood, rather than submit to My Lady's will. Very well. If they want war, war is what they will get.' He called his knife to his hand, and cut his palm. The palm that was already marked with Starsky's blood. 'Thy blood and mine,' he said. 'We shall join together to defeat our foes.'

'My blood has no magic,' Starsky reminded him.

'No matter,' said Hutch. 'It is powerful enough without magic. Blood is blood. It is red, like the setting sun. Like the flames of the dragon.'

There are times when Hutch's thought processes are beyond my simple brain, thought Starsky.

Before Hutch could let loose his blood magic, the gates of the Frohlich lands opened slightly, and two men stepped out. The two Elder Husbands, thought Starsky. Dressed in red. Carrying blue banners. Blue for negotiating?

'Why do ye this thing?' the Eldest Husband called out. 'Why do ye force upon us the rule of a foreigner? She knows nothing of our ways.'

'Your former Lady should have thought of that, before she challenged our Lady,' said Hutch. 'She set demons upon our homestead, and sought to steal our Lady's child. But our Lady defeated her in single combat. Look there, upon your former Lady's head. Her entrails adorn our doorposts. Our Lady claims these lands as her own. Surrender them to her, as custom and law requires.'

'I deny thy Lady's claims,' said the Eldest Husband. 'I claim right of combat.'

'So do I,' spoke the Second Husband. 'We will meet you in single combat.'

'How can you claim that right?' asked Hutch. 'You have no Lady to fight for. If these lands are unclaimed by the setting of the sun, there will be a civil war over them.'

'One of the Daughters of the House is of marriageable age. She will claim her mother's lands and family.'

'A Daughter! Would she marry with her own fathers then? Incest would be grounds for a civil war in itself. No! Our Lady's claim is the only right one. Open the gates. I give thee one last chance.'

The Eldest Husband's only answer was to draw his knife.

Lady Hutchinson dismounted, and strode up to Hutch's side. 'They are fair warriors,' she said. 'But not Demon Hunters. You and your mate are the better fighters. Make this quick, I pray you, for 'tis almost sundown.'

Starsky called his demon killing knife to his hand. His opponent was a fair warrior, but he was no Demon Hunter. Starsky had been fighting and killing demons for a living, for many years. The fight was not a fair contest, and Starsky felt bad about having to kill the man. It was not the same as killing a demon, who was usually evil personified. This man was not evil, merely loyal to his own Lady Wife. But Hutch had told him there was no other choice.

'If we have to fight her husbands, Starsk, we must fight to the death. They would not thank us for sparing them. If they want that, they will open the gates. Otherwise, they will never accept our rule over them. We can't allow traitors in our midst.'

When the Second Husband made a mistake and left his guard open, Starsky took advantage and drove his blade home.

Hutch was taking longer to finish his own fight. Perhaps to save the Eldest Husband the humiliation of being defeated so quickly, Starsky thought. It would be like Hutch, to honour a worthy opponent in that way. As the last rays of the dying sun shuddered across the darkening sky, the Elder Husband slipped on the damp grass, and Hutch's blade sank into his heart.

Hutch knelt beside the dying man. He clasped his hands in his own. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'I did not wish to kill you, and My Lady's will was not to dishonour you. We would not have put you in shame.'

'I know,' whispered the Eldest Husband. 'I was… was trying to protect the secret.'

'What secret?' asked Hutch. But those were the dying man's last words. His eyes fixed, in a blank stare, and the last breath left his body.

'What secret?' Hutch looked up at Starsky, and his eyes were wet with tears.

'Are you going to… you know?' Starsky couldn't say the words.

'Cut out his entrails?' asked Hutch. 'I think not, for I have had enough blood on my hands this day.'

'It is the custom,' Lady Hutchinson pointed out.

'I know, Lady Mother,' said Hutch. 'But I pray you will spare me this. I fought for my Lady Wife, and I doubt she will die of grief if I do not insist she carry this man's guts through the gates. That head 'tis enough, I vow.'

'Thou wast always far too soft hearted,' said the Lady, but she smiled tenderly.

Hutch got to his feet. He didn't look all that very soft hearted, thought Starsky. He picked up the pike, with Lady Frohlich's head still atop it, and strode to the gate of the Frohlich homestead. 'My Lady Wife has defeated your Lady in battle,' he called. 'And now we have defeated her champions. I command you for the last time to open the gates, or I will loose my troops upon you, and we will leave no one alive to tell the tale.'

The gates swung open.

'I think the Demon Council would have welcomed our invasion of Hell with more cheerful faces,' said Starsky, as they rode in.

Hutch tossed him a cheerful grin of his own. 'Canst thou blame them?' he asked.

'No,' Starsky admitted. 'And I'm not letting thee out of my sight, until we ride back out again.'

'Don't worry so much, dear heart. We won these lands in honourable combat, there is no question. They must accept that now, or dishonour themselves.'

'Dear fool, I'll bet you anything you like there are one or two dishonourable people in that crowd right now, who will still be cursing you with their dying breath.'

'And cursing thee, Starsky. And My Lady Mary, I am certain.'

'They can curse me all they like,' said Starsky. He leaned as close to Hutch as possible, without falling off his mount, and kept his voice low. 'I've been cursing Mary myself, the last few hours. This was her fault, whatever you say. But I don't give a damn who they curse, as long as someone doesn't try to stick a knife in you.'

'Hush thou. Don't put ideas in anyone's head.'

'Somebody put rocks in your head,' said Starsky. 'I can hear them rattling from here.'

'If they did,' said Hutch. 'They found them first in thine. Mayhap that is the rattling noise thou dost hear?'

They dismounted, just before the front door. Hutch stuck the former Lady Frohlich's former head beside the doorpost. Starsky had been getting tired of watching Hutch carry the thing around, and sincerely hoped this was its final resting place.

The Third Husband greeted them at the door, and bowed. 'Greetings,' he said, coldly. He didn't smile.

'I return thy greetings,' said Hutch. 'In the nature in which they were meant. Thy former Lady isn't herself, as thou mayst see. She fell all to pieces, so we gave her an escort home.'

'Hutch!' said Starsky. Hutch could be the most charming and caring of men. Then, there were days like this….

'How dare thee so insult our Lady?' said the Third Husband. 'How dare thee so mock our grief?'

'How dare thy Lady so invade our home, and threaten a Daughter of our House?' asked Hutch. 'And how dare you all refuse our Lady's claim. She won you in fair combat. You belong to her now. Kneel to her, and give her your fealty, or I will kill you where you stand.'

**************************

'Was all that really necessary?' asked Mary.

'Yes,' said Hutch. He was striding about the bedchamber, looking behind the draperies, and underneath the furniture.

'Haven't you ever heard of Christian charity?' she asked.

'No. And neither have they, Lady Wife.'

'I'm not….'

'Hush thou!' said Hutch, forgetting the proper mode of address, in his distress. He gripped Mary's shoulders, and lowered his voice. 'Dost thou… do you truly have the wish to die? If so, there are easier ways to fulfill it. I could push you off the battlements, and say it was an accident, and I doubt anyone here would contradict me. Starsky unnecessarily pointed out as we rode in through the gates that we surely have at least one enemy within. This enemy could gather support enough for their cause from among the uncommitted, if they were to hear you admit to being less than you appear. You are Lady Frohlich. Don't forget it again.'

'Hutch,' said Starsky, softly. 'This is a dangerous game you are playing, and Mary is not trained to do what you're asking her to do.'

'Thinkest thou I do not know it well enough? I am sorry for the fix we are in. Truly sorry. This was not what I intended. If that… if Lady Frohlich had not been so greedy, we might have made our escape safely from this World, within a day or two, and no one would have been the wiser. We must needs keep our eyes open, and our ears. Something is up. There is more going on here, than even Lady Frohlich's greed. Her First Husband said that he was guarding a secret, and that was why he didn't open the gates to us, on our arrival.'

'I heard,' said Starsky. 'But I have no idea what he meant.'

'Nor do I,' said Hutch. 'But I do believe it is the key.'

'The key to what?' asked Starsky.

'I have not decided yet. I must think me on all of this. What I have at the moment, are a lot of unconnected dots, and I must needs connect them to reveal the true picture. The dragon may help. I have not had the time to speak to her all day. In the meantime…' Hutch smiled. 'I will send servants to you, My Lady Wife. You should bathe, and change out of your bloody clothes. This room is safe for now. I will have Tristan and Dobey sleep outside the doors. Starsky and I will take the room across the hall. And something else… I warn you not to argue this point with me. Like it or not, you must do it. I will choose one of your younger husbands, and send him to you. Take him to your bed, an it please you. Or even an it do not.'

'What! You cannot be serious?' said Mary.

'I am serious,' said Hutch. 'Deadly serious. You need allies among your newly made husbands, and there is only one way to get them. Use it. Unless you still would rather die?'

Mary shuddered. 'This is… it's sick,' she said.

'Beyond a doubt,' said Hutch. 'I would feel sick myself, were I in your place. One thing to be said for female anatomy, as I understand it. 'Tis not as difficult for you to play act, as it would be for me.'

'But… but you said that people must be contracted for one year before…'

'Not in this case, Lady Wife,' said Hutch, crisply. 'I am contracted to Lady Mary. I must wait one year until I might have pleasure of her. These men were contracted to Lady Frohlich, and you, as I keep reminding you, are now Lady Frohlich. They belong to you, every one of them. Enjoy yourself tonight. I intend to. We may all be dead tomorrow.'

'Enjoy myself?' asked Mary, as Hutch strode out of the room. 'You expect me to enjoy myself?'

Starsky hung back a moment, unable to resist. 'I expect you to enjoy yourself, Mary,' he said. 'I know what the men of this World are capable of, once they thaw out.'

Hutch called all the Husbands together in the Common Room. They filed in, looking, for the most part, like prisoners about to be shot. Hutch watched this parade for a moment, an expression of satisfaction on his face. Then, he pulled Starsky aside.

'We have to pick someone,' he said. 'To spend the night with Mary, I mean,' he went on, in answer to Starsky's confused expression.

'Pick someone?' Starsky asked. 'What the Hell do you think I am, Hutch? The Madame of a whorehouse?

'No, of course I do not think so,' said Hutch, looking hurt, as though he were the one who'd just been mortally insulted. 'But I have never done such a thing before.'

'Neither have I,' said Starsky. 'But you're doing a Damned good impression of someone who has.'

'Thou knowest much more about women than I do,' Hutch went on, desperately. He had to be desperate to admit that Starsky knew more on any subject than he did. 'Do any of them look to be the sort of man a woman might…. Starsky! Wouldst thou oblige me by not laughing, and lend me thine advice? You promised to help me.'

'Okay. Let's see. Not someone who looks like her ex-husband. Unless maybe she's still pining after him? Women like men with big muscles. I think. Unless she'd feel intimidated? Older men are more experienced. But younger men can get it up faster, and do it more often. I don't know, Hutch. Women are mysterious. Who knows what they want?'

Hutch isn't listening to a word I said, thought Starsky. Why did he ask me then?

'She's feeling frightened, and lost,' Hutch said slowly. 'Not someone who reminds her of her husband, I vow. Someone gentle, but strong. An older man, I think. She isn't looking for someone who can get it up twelve times in one night. Or big muscles….'

'A big cock, mayhap?'

'…I think she's looking for a big heart…'

'I think I'm going to be sick,' said Starsky.

'… and so, I thank thee, Starsky,' said Hutch. 'Thou dost give good advice, after all.'

'You're welcome. Are we setting up as matchmakers, now? I prefer hunting demons. It's neater and cleaner and far less dangerous.'

All the surviving Husbands had banded together at the far end of the room, and were watching Starsky and Hutch argue. Hutch studied their faces, looking into each set of eyes, in turn.

'Well,' he said. 'This is not a happy situation, is it? And before you tell me that 'tis my fault, allow me to disagree. Being the First Husband of Lady Frohlich did not feature in my plans for my future life, I assure you. I am very unhappy at these developments, and I am not in a good mood. Consider yourselves My Lady's slaves, until further notice. If you had opened the gates to her when we first demanded entrance, your position would now be somewhat higher.'

The eldest husband among them, the former Third Husband, bowed to Hutch. 'First Husband,' he said.

Hutch acknowledged him with a nod, giving him his new title. 'Fifth Husband,' he said.

'Might I be allowed to ask what thine intentions are?' asked the Fifth Husband.

'My Lady's intentions are to settle in here, peacefully,' said Hutch. 'My intentions are to help her do so in any way I can. Understand me. My Lady bore your former Lady no ill will. She met her only once, at the Queen's Residence, this afternoon, and spoke to her with respect. We had not been back at the Hutchinson homestead for the space of one hour, when your former Lady attacked her. The onus is upon the Frohlich homestead to make reparation.'

'I see,' said the Fifth Husband.

'I would hope so,' said Hutch. 'I expect you to behave with courtesy to your new Lady at all times. You may all retire for the evening, and we will speak again in the morning.'

The men began to file out. Hutch grasped the wrist of one, and said, 'Not thou. I wish to speak to thee alone, an it please thee.'

The man gazed back at him, calmly.

Hutch waited until everyone else had filed out, then waved the man over to some comfortable chairs, set in a large bay window.

Starsky was prowling the room. There were cupboards, which he opened. Bottles and boxes. A small icebox. More bottles -- cold this time. Several of them looked as if they held a promising amount of alcoholic content. Sliced meats and cheeses. Another cupboard. Plates and glasses. A tray. Starsky assembled a generous assortment of foods and drinks, and carried it over to the window, where Hutch waited with their companion. He put the tray down on a small table, and smiled at Hutch.

'I was hungry,' he said.

'Thou art always hungry,' said Hutch. He waved his hand. 'Eat,' he said. He looked at their companion. 'Art thou hungry?' he asked.

'No. I had dinner,' said the man.

'Good,' said Hutch. 'Because we did not. There was no time.'

'I am sorry for that.'

'Art thou? Then, perhaps thou wouldst do me the honour of explaining why? Didst thou know of thy Lady Wife's purpose? Was it merely ambition, or was something else lurking behind it?'

'I was her Fifth Husband,' said the man. 'And not in her most secret confidence. I had more to do with the farming, and raising the children, than with war. I am capable of fighting, but I do not like it. All I know is that for some time, she had been in secret counsel with several of her eldest husbands. Her First and Second, of course.'

'Her Third?' asked Hutch, sharply.

'I… I think so,' said the man. 'But I do not know what they were talking about. If I had known they were planning a raid upon your homestead, I would have counselled them against it. Lady Hutchinson is an intimate advisor to the Queen, and a fierce warrior. Her husbands are brave and loyal to a man. And her sons… Thou art known as a Demon Hunter of great renown. I do not know what my Lady was thinking of. She must have had her reasons, though.'

'Listen to me,' said Hutch. 'I am sorry for thy loss. Whatever cruel things I said at the gate, were said in the heat of battle. My Lady had no wish to kill your Lady Wife, but it is done. She is only a young woman. A Mother to be sure. Brave to be sure. But young. This was her first kill.'

The man looked up at him. A knowing look came into his eyes. 'She is feeling pain,' he said. 'And thou wishest me to offer her comfort.'

'I do,' said Hutch. 'I would comfort her myself, but we have only been contracted for a few weeks. The situation is the same with all the rest of her contracted Husbands. I would that thou shouldst go to her, and offer her all thyself. Knowest thou this. If any harm does come to her, I will raze Frohlich to the ground, and sow the land with salt. The name of Frohlich will be a hissing in the ears of all our people, until the end of time. Dost thou understand me?'

'Perfectly,' said the man. He looked Hutch up and down. Then he examined Starsky with the same care. His face wore the most bemused of expressions. 'This is a most curious situation,' he said. 'But I suppose any questions I do have will go unanswered.'

'Thou dost suppose rightly,' said Starsky.

The man shrugged, and got to his feet, and bowed. 'I see,' he said. 'It is no business of mine. But I do know that which is my business. Quite well, I assure you both. Our Lady Wife will suffer no harm from me, Gentlemen.'

'Come with us, then,' said Hutch. They led the man to Mary's room, and waved him inside. They waited for a few minutes, but the door remained closed, and no screams of rage issued forth, nor did any vases crash against the walls. It seemed that the Fifth Husband was at least not completely unwelcome.

'Do you trust him, Hutch?' asked Starsky, when they had settled in their own room for the night.

'As far as that goes, yes.' Hutch was picking at Starsky's plate of food, absently. 'I think he is an opportunist who knows what side his bread is buttered on, but he also shows a certain amount of good sense, and perception. Just what I was looking for. I only hope that Mary is still speaking to me in the morning.'

'Forget Mary for now,' said Starsky. 'What about thou?'

'What about me?' asked Hutch.

'You've done things today I know you never wanted to do. You told me once you had no particular wish to drape anyone's guts over your doorposts. And now I can see why.'

'I shall live,' said Hutch. 'I must needs talk with thee.'

'Well, when you put it that way,' said Starsky. He pulled Hutch to him, and kissed him with all the repressed passion left over from the battle before the walls. He touched Hutch's throat. 'They were aiming for you,' he said. 'Shooting to kill.'

'Of course,' said Hutch. 'Think no more of it.' Hutch kissed Starsky's bandaged hand. 'That was no small scratch,' he said.

'I must needs kiss thee, until I am satisfied,' said Starsky. He pushed Hutch down upon their bed, and kissed him until his lips felt pleasantly numb. They lay for a while, in each other's arms, listening to each other breathing.

'When I was in thy World,' said Hutch, after a time of this peace. 'I could speak with the dragon, any time I pleased. Since I have come here, so close to her, she is quiet. Not silent and shut off from me. Nothing like that, as if she were rejecting me. It is like unto when we are together, lying so close, and we do not need to speak in words to understand each other.'

'I knew she was a rival,' said Starsky.

'Hush thou,' said Hutch. 'And listen. There is something mysterious about her. She is different. Changed somehow.'

'That scares me,' said Starsky. 'Should we leave here on the next flight out?'

'No!' said Hutch. 'I don't want to leave now.' Hutch murmured in Starsky's ear. 'If the prince marries Queen Diana, that will unite our Worlds more closely, and that can only be good. Then, I have the chance to do something I have always wished to do, right here. Think! We have a rich and powerful homestead. I don't want its wealth and power for myself, but I can use the position that I have, as First Husband, to do something for the men of this World. Mary is not a conventional Wife. She has not been conditioned to think of men as her subordinates. She needs me, and my connections to Hutchinson, to consolidate her own position. And I do believe my Lady Mother would be sympathetic to my cause. Then, there is the dragon. That is exciting in itself. If the dragon is changing, it means this World is changing. And I know of it beforehand.'

'You are a prophet,' said Starsky. 'How are you going to prophesy?'

'Prophesy?' asked Hutch. 'How should I prophesy? I cannot simply stand up before the Queen's Council, and reveal that I do speak with the dragon, and know her mind. I must needs have a… an accepted formula in which to express my revelations.' Hutch lay, staring at the ceiling.

'Hmm,' said Starsky. 'You have your blood magic. What other kinds of….'

Hutch sat up, quickly, dislodging Starsky from his comfortable resting place near his heart. 'Starsky! Thou art brilliant, on occasion. Come with me.'

'This time of night?' Starsky complained. 'I thought we were going to….'

'We can do that later,' said Hutch. He climbed out of bed, and pulled his boots back on. 'I need to speak to my Lady Mother.'

'Your mother? At this time of night? We already had one battle to the death.'

'Coward,' said Hutch.

'Yeah. I am. I admit it. Happy now?'

Hutch was ignoring him, of course. Starsky left his shoes where they were, and padded bare footed down the hall after his lover.

Lady Hutchinson had elected to stay for a day or two to help them settle in. Her Eldest Husband was holding down the fort at the Hutchinson homestead, of course, but she had kept a number of her younger husbands with her. Several of them were sitting about in an antechamber off her bedroom, talking and laughing and reading. Two of them were cuddled together on a couch, their arms around each other, sharing an occasional kiss.

They all looked up as Starsky and Hutch entered the room. 'Welcome!' said one of them. 'Lo, the conquering heroes come.' He sounded slightly drunk. When he came up to Starsky and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, Starsky's suspicion was confirmed.

Starsky had always felt slightly out of place amongst Hutch's family, and others from his World. They had never visited this World together before, but Hutch's family had visited them in their home, on several occasions, and those visits had been rather uncomfortable. It was Starsky's opinion that they simply didn't know into which slot to put Starsky, and his relationship with Hutch. It wasn't that they disapproved of men loving other men, thought Starsky. Simply that there was no Lady Wife in the picture, to create a proper context for their loving. They had decided that Starsky must be the wife, for Hutch had left his home, and moved into Starsky's. Problem solved, in a way. But this meant that Hutch's fathers were unable to relax around him, and treat him as just another man.

Now it seemed that situation had changed. All to the good, thought Starsky. He put his arm around the other man in turn, and patted his shoulder.

'Which husband are you again?' he asked. 'Sorry. Art thou. Your language is too complicated for me this time of night.'

The others laughed. 'He's the Eighth Husband,' someone told him. 'And way down on the list.'

'Too far down,' the Eighth Husband wailed, pathetically. 'My Lady doesn't know I exist.'

'Yes, I do. All too well, do I know of thine existence,' said Lady Hutchinson from the doorway to her bedroom. 'Thy name is Giles, is it not?'

Giles fell to his knees. 'Thank you, my Lady,' he said. He kissed the ground at her feet.

The other husbands all roared with laughter.

'Monster!' said Lady Hutchinson. 'Go sober up. I shall see thee later. Ah. Kenneth. And David. To what great event do I owe the pleasure of this visit?' She was wearing a long black negligee of some kind. Her white-blonde hair rippled down her back. She was stunningly beautiful.

Starsky took her hand, and bent to kiss it. 'The pleasure of this visit is all mine, Lady Mother,' he said.

The other husbands laughed. 'Naughty boy,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'I see that my son has dragged thee out of bed, and did not even give thee time to put thy shoes on. What is so important that it could not wait until the morrow?'

'That is what I said, Lady Mother. But he didn't answer, just stomped off down the hall.'

'Men!' said Lady Hutchinson. 'Come, come. Sit down. Have some wine, Kenneth. Tell me what troubles thee.'

Lady Hutchinson led the way into her bedroom. Her second husband was lounging on her bed, drinking wine.

'I am sorry to interrupt your privacy, Lady Mother,' said Hutch. 'I didn't think.'

'Thou didst not interrupt anything of importance, Kenneth,' said Lady Hutchinson, with a smile. 'I just stepped out of my bath. Thou didst choose the right time. Don't fret. Here. Sit thee down.'

Hutch sat down on a couch, Lady Hutchinson beside him. The Second Husband climbed down from the bed, and strolled over to sit at his wife's other side. He handed Hutch a glass of wine, and smiled up at Starsky. 'Help thyself,' he said, waving to a table laden with food and drink.

Starsky noted the form of address with approval. It didn't feel as if he'd been demoted, he thought, but as if he'd finally been accepted into the family as one of the men.

'Starsky is always hungry,' said Hutch. He drew his knife to his hand, and cut his palm quickly. The red mist filled the room, enveloping them all in its protective fold.

'That wasn't necessary, my dear,' said his mother. 'I already put spells of protection on this room. But if it makes thee feel safer.'

'It does,' said Hutch. 'I have some important things to discuss with you.'

'Art thou finally going to tell me what thy real purpose was in coming here?'

'I cannot, Lady Mother… No. Listen, an it please you. I swore an oath, to a very great Lady. We both did, Starsky and I. A blood oath. What would our word mean, an we were to break it? How would you feel about a man who broke his word to you?'

'I would hate him, and hunt him down like a sick dog,' said the Lady.

'My feelings exactly,' said Starsky. He filled a plate with food, again, and brought it with him as he sat Lady Hutchinson's feet. He could almost hear the wheels in her mind turning. He could almost feel the moment in which she put two and two together, and arrived at the approximation of the right answer.

'I see,' she said, and smiled. 'You are honourable men, and keep your word. Thou, Kenneth, art like unto thy father.' She patted her second husband's hand, fondly.

'So, you see, it was necessary that we come here, and that we have a reasonable excuse,' Hutch went on. Once more, he began to pick absently at Starsky's plate of food. 'Do you remember, the other day, you asked about the dragon. Did I hear her voice, and speak with her? You told me to be at peace, that you would keep my secret. Well, there is something different about the dragon, lately. She is changing. Her thoughts are quieter. Mysterious, and deep. I feel that I should make these changes known. But how can I explain my knowledge of her mind?'

'Dost thou believe that I might help thee?' asked his mother.

'Yes,' said Hutch. 'You know more of blood magic than do I, for I had no cause to learn it. Hearth fire magic. The magic of claiming, of returning your blood to the dragon, so that you become one with the earth you live on. Men used to perform that magic, and had speech with the dragon, then.'

'They do so no longer,' said Hutch's father. He was watching his son eat Starsky's dinner, with a bemused expression on his face.

'No,' said Hutch. 'But I do speak with the dragon. I should perform the rituals of the hearth in this place. We will see what the dragon's reaction may be. Perhaps she will tell me the reasons I am so blessed with her favour.'

'It should be the Lady Wife who performs the hearth magic,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'But Mary knows nothing of it, and her blood is not the blood of the dragon. Very well. We should go now, for 'tis almost midnight. Thou had a good thought there, my son. This will consolidate your claim on these lands even more firmly.'

'It was Starsky who thought of it, in truth,' said Hutch.

They set out for the Hearth Chapel. Hutch and his father striding ahead in their boots, Lady Hutchinson and Starsky padding behind in their bare feet. Starsky chuckled.

'What doth amuse thee so?' asked the Lady.

'Shouldn't they be walking two paces behind us?'

'Thou shouldst inform them of that,' quoth the Lady, with a yawn. 'I am too weary, I vow.'

Hutch opened the door to the chapel, and he and his father went inside, Starsky and Lady Hutchinson still behind.

The room was dark, except for the fire burning on the large, raised central hearth. There was a flash of something of deeper darkness on darkness. A sliver of silver, lifting and falling. A smell of blood. A deep grunt of pain.

'Hutch!' cried Starsky. He called on his demon killing knife.

The room was too dark. He couldn't see what was happening. Not plainly enough. Struggle. A scream. He ran into the midst of the melee, trying to sort out his lover's flesh from the alien bodies, the knives and the blood and the pain.

Lady Hutchinson was calling her husbands. She was running into the room, pouring oil on the fire. A burst of sudden light. Starsky found he was standing guard over Hutch. Hutch was bent over. In pain?

Starsky was facing off against two opponents. Both dressed in black, with black face masks. Both armed with knives. The floor was running with blood. He wanted to escape the slipperiness and the terrifying smell, but didn't dare leave Hutch's side. It was Hutch they wanted, but they were getting Starsky instead.

Lady Hutchinson had her own knife drawn. She was circling, circling. The room was filled with her husbands, armed with swords and knives. They called to the attackers to surrender. Neither dropped their knives. One ran at Starsky, on swift light feet. Starsky's knife slashed up and down. His attacker fell.

Starsky didn't watch Lady Hutchinson dispatch the other. He was pushing his own kill away, and dropping to his knees beside Hutch. Now he could see that his lover was protecting his father from attack. It was Hutch's father who was bleeding.

'Roland!' cried Lady Hutchinson. Starsky could see his own terror reflected in Lady Hutchinson's eyes.

Together they turned the man over. A knife in his chest. Not deep, thought Starsky. Not fatal. His fellow husbands were guarding the door, checking for any other possible attackers, dragging the bodies out of the way. Running for hot water and medical supplies. Lady Hutchinson was stanching the blood with strips torn from her own gown.

Starsky turned to look at Hutch. Hutch's face was white, and streaked with blood.

'I'm not hurt,' said Hutch. 'My father took the blow. It was meant for me. If he dies….'

'He won't. I'm sure of it. The wound isn't that deep,' said Starsky.

'I will kill everyone in this place whether he dies or not,' said Hutch.

'No, no. Hutch, we don't know, we can't know that everyone was involved. That wouldn't be fair, to punish everyone. We've dealt with those responsible. They're dead.'

'Yes, they are dead, unfortunately,' said Hutch. 'We cannot torture them. I need to learn what they were up to.'

'They were trying to kill you,' said Starsky. 'What's mysterious about that? I told you someone would try it.'

'They were in here when we entered the room,' said Hutch. 'They couldn't have known what our plans were, for we made no mention of wanting to worship at the Hearth tonight. I only decided it moments ago. Yet, here they were, dressed in black, and masked.'

'Like the former Lady Frohlich,' said Starsky.

'Mayhap they were planning on carrying on her activities themselves.'

Giles came up to them. 'One of your attackers was the former Third Husband,' he said. 'The other was First Daughter. I think we should kill everyone here.'

Hutch studied Starsky's face. 'Not tonight,' he said. 'Put guards on their doors. Check on Lady Mary. I'll deal with them in the morning. Lady Mother? Are you well? My father?'

'I am well,' said his mother. 'I believe your father will live. His heart is beating strongly enough. Our physician is on her way.'

'I think we should go ahead with the hearth magic, if you are up to it. I must needs consult the dragon. There is darkness here. Too much darkness for me to see my way through. Hutchinson magic is sunshine itself compared to this.'

'Hearth magic?' asked Lady Hutchinson. 'If thou wilt perform hearth magic, there be no end of blood ready to thy hand.'

'Some of the blood is yours, Hutch, whether you know it or not,' said Starsky. 'Sit still. You have cuts on your face, on your hands. What's this? A rip in your shirt? Hutch!'

'They be scratches,' said Hutch, pushing Starsky's exploring hands away. 'Like unto the scratch on thy hand. Be thou still, Starsky. I will live, another hour at least. Lady Mother? Is the room secure?'

'Aye,' said his Lady Mother. 'Secure enough. Though we did think it secure enough before. We were wrong.'

'Yes. That is why I do not wish to wait. Lady Mother, if you will, guard the house. Starsky will guard my back. Thus may I be free to enter the deepest realms of the dragon. I would ask her what she knows of these events. Mayhap she will answer me.'

Hutch walked over to the great central hearth. The fire had died down somewhat, having burned off most of the oil Lady Hutchinson had poured over it. Hutch added more oil to the flames, and the small fire became once more a conflagration. He drew his knife….

'Oh, no, no,' said Starsky. 'Hutch, you're bleeding all over the place. I keep telling you. How much more can you lose, before you pass out?'

'It is my blood that will create the link with the dragon. Only a few drops.'

It looked like more than a few drops to Starsky. He came up behind Hutch, ready not only to guard his back, but to catch him when he fell.

'From the great above, to the great below,' Lady Hutchinson intoned. She added her own blood to the offering. 'I call upon you to hear my voice. Hear the voice of my daughters, and my husbands and my sons. In the beginning was there chaos. The dragon gathered the World around her like a cloak. The dragon hears all, sees all, feels all, knows all.'

'From the great above, to the great below,' said Hutch. 'I call upon you to listen to my voice. In the beginning was there chaos. The dragon gathered the World around her like a cloak. She hears all, sees all, feels all, knows all. Once men spoke with her, but they dreamed evil dreams. Now, listen to my voice, and speak with me once more.'

Another drop of Hutch's blood landed in the fire. The flames darkened. They grew still, like a picture of a fire, thought Starsky, rather than the real thing. Flickering among the frozen flames were tiny eyes. A tiny tongue of flame shot out, and wrapped itself around Hutch's hand. The tongue drew him into the depths of the fire. Starsky flung himself after Hutch, but instead of entering the fire, he slammed up hard against a cold wall.

'Not again!' he screamed. He battered at the frozen flames with his hands. Lady Hutchinson pulled him away. He punched her. Or tried to. She was prepared, and blocked his blows.

'David! David. Be thou calm,' she said, holding him at bay.

'Calm? They have Hutch. Someone has Hutch. I just got him back a few days ago, and they've taken him again.' He stormed over to the hearth, and tried to batter down the flames without any noticeable success. His knuckles bled, and he sighed with despair.

'No, no,' said Lady Hutchinson. 'No one has taken Kenneth. He doth travel to the dragon's lair.'

'He doth travel without me!' Starsky cried. '

'He will be safe with the dragon. He is of her blood. Wait here, and guard the hearth.'

I'm tired of watching and waiting, thought Starsky. Watching and waiting at his grave, at that stone wall in the warehouse. Now here. How terrible it is to live in bodies separated by time and space, and not to know….

*********************************

Hutch called upon the dragon to listen to his voice. 'From the great above, to the great below,' he called. 'Once men spoke with the dragon, but they dreamed evil dreams.' Now, he implored the dragon, listen to my voice once more. He let fall another drop of his blood upon the flames of the hearth fire.

The hearth fire was the link between the great above, where the People dwelt, and the lair of the dragon in the great below. The blood of those who were born of the dragon beat strongly in Hutch. He could hear the drops falling, falling, down through the flames that flared upon the hearth. The hearth had no floor, and the fire burnt no wood or any other fuel. It was the fire of the dragon, direct from the great below. The drops of his blood fell, straight to the heart of the dragon. And she answered.

Time stopped. All around him, were things frozen as if in a photograph. Only the flickering fire moved. The flames parted, and the dragon gazed upon him with her ancient eyes. Her tongue flicked out, caressing his wrist. It felt cool, not hot.

'Thou canst bear the touch of my flame,' she said. 'Thou art of my Blood. A true son of the dragon.'

'You know me?' asked Hutch. 'You accept me?'

'Yes. I accept thee. Come!'

He followed her into the flames. He could hear Starsky call out to him, but did not dare to turn around.

'The one you love is safe and well,' said the dragon. 'He will not be burnt by my flames, though he would follow thee to the great below if he could.'

'This I know,' said Hutch. 'Starsky hath no sense. There are no limits to his love.'

'Should there be limits?' asked the dragon. 'Are there limits to thy love?'

'Yes,' said Hutch, without hesitation. 'I would not do evil at his behest. I would not kill innocent people for him.'

'That shows the greatness of thy love,' said the dragon. 'Not its lack. And truly, his is just as great as thine. He would do no evil for thee, I believe.'

Great cathedral walls of flame arched above them. The dragon led him down, down through the folds of the cloak of the World. In the great above, she had been tiny, comprehensible, her voice soft. As they descended into the great below, Hutch felt dwarfed by her greatness. Her voice boomed and thundered around him.

'Fear not!' she said. 'For thou art a true son of the dragon. Look, thou! Look upon thy home. For a vast age, thou art the only man who has ventured within these walls. I bid thee welcome.'

'I thank you for your courtesy,' said Hutch, with a bow. They walked on, for a time. Then he ventured a question. 'Why have you chosen me to be the honoured one?'

'Thou hast an adventurous spirit,' said the dragon. 'The men of thy race are brave, and intelligent, but so few are adventurous enough to leave thy World, and be Travellers. Demon Hunters. And thou hast a love that gives thee strength. It anchors thee to the great above, does it not? Thy mate guards thy back. Thou art not one among many husbands, loved, but expendable. Thy mate has shown this, time and again.'

'Was it not a accident, then?' asked Hutch. 'Was it not the electrical shocks that broke through the walls in my mind, and let me hear your voice?'

'That was the accident,' said the dragon. 'This is by purpose. Look, thou!' she said again. 'Look upon thy home. And look upon this. This no man, of any age, has seen.'

They had come upon a vast chamber. The flames here were so dense that Hutch began to feel the heat at last. But he stepped inside. Now, could he scarcely breathe. The floor beneath his feet burned the soles of his boots. But he followed the dragon, deeper and deeper into the chamber. The dragon stopped beside the densest wall of dark flame that Hutch had yet seen. It looked like a nest, he thought.

'Yessss,' hissed the dragon. 'A nesssst. Look deep within. Look upon what beats at the very heart.'

Something stirred among the flames. A wing lifted. A pair of innocent eyes, soft and deep blue, looked up at him, startled and shy.

'See what I have given unto thee,' said the dragon. 'Thy love, and thy courage, inspired me. I wished to know such love, too. So, I have made this.'

'A new dragon?' asked Hutch.

'A male dragon,' said the female dragon. 'My son. And when he is old enough, my mate. I am about to change the nature of the World. I am creating a new continent, for the People to live upon. And see, he guards it for me, while it grows. When it is ready, I would that thou shouldst carry it to the great above for me, and place it in the sea. Wilt thou do this for me?'

'Of course,' said Hutch.

'I will call thee, when the time is right. But now, thou dost have questions that need answers.'

'I do?' asked Hutch. 'Oh, yes. I do. I did wonder what was going on in the great above. But my concerns seem so small, compared to this.'

'Nothing is too small, or too great, for thee to ask of me,' said the female dragon. 'Ask, and I shall answer. But I have one further thing to ask of thee. Wilt thou share thy blood with my child?'

Hutch nodded, overwhelmed. The tiny dragon tongue flicked out. It licked at his wounds, and they healed upon the instant.

'Thou hast lent my son thy strength,' said the female dragon. 'Now, I shall lend you mine.'

***********************************

'It has been hours,' said Starsky.

'Minutes, only,' said Lady Hutchinson.

'What can they be doing there that takes so long? I think the dragon has eaten him.'

'Hush! Such heresy can only be tolerated because of thy ignorance. The dragon eats no flesh.'

'What does she eat, then?' asked Starsky.

'I have had no opportunity to enquire,' said the lady.

The icy flames shattered, of a sudden, and Hutch stepped forth. Starsky caught him as he fell.

'You're burning with fever,' said Starsky, as he held him in his arms. 'What did she do to you? Fry you over hot coals?'

'She has shared with me her secret,' said Hutch. 'I am vastly honoured, and charged with a great task.'

'You're worn out,' said Starsky. 'You can do this task in the morning, after you've had some sleep. Can you walk? Can you even get on your feet?'

'I've journeyed to the centre of the great below,' said Hutch. 'I can manage to walk a few more feet.'

'Well, lean on me anyway,' said Starsky.

'Lady Mother, is my father well?' asked Hutch.

'He is. He sleeps peacefully. You should do the same, my son.'

'I must needs speak with you both,' said Hutch, seriously.

'In the morning, Hutch,' said Starsky. 'It can wait until the morning, can't it?'

Hutch seemed to consider whether or not it could, and decided that was acceptable. 'Lady Mother, put a guard on this chapel, and the hearth, an it please you. This is according to the dragon's express wishes.'

'I will guard the hearth myself,' said his mother.

Hutch let Starsky lead him off to bed. The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep, was Starsky asking him, 'What do dragons eat, anyway?'

***************************

'Dragons do not eat,' said Hutch.

Starsky opened heavy-lidded eyes, and gazed up at his lover. His lover was glowing, and looking far too cheerful and beautiful for the horribly early hour. Especially since he hadn't gotten any last night. The men of this World were too Damned cool and casual about sex. Like they could live happily without it, or something.

'Mmph!' said Starsky. 'Who cares what dragons eat?'

'Thou dost, apparently. Thou didst ask me last night, as if it were the most important thing in the world. Sorry, but I was too tired to answer thee then. But now I have answered thee, and gotten no thanks for it, I do note.'

'Thanks,' said Starsky.

'Thou art welcome,' said Hutch.

'How can they live, if they don't eat?'

'Mayhap they live on air, or… or fire. Or mayhap they live on love.'

'Love? Could anything live on love?'

'If anything could, thou could, I vow,' said Hutch. He ran his hand down Starsky's chest, then lower, under the covers. 'Hmm,' he said. 'Something seems to be hard.'

'It's just a morning erection,' said Starsky. 'Doesn't mean anything.'

'Truly?' asked Hutch. He tossed back the covers, revealing his entire body, and stretched luxuriously. 'I suppose I might as well get up then.'

Starsky grabbed him, and dragged him back into bed. 'Not so fast,' he growled. 'You still owe me one from last night.'

'One what?' asked Hutch, haughtily.

'One of everything you got going, Hutch,' said Starsky.

'That could take some time, Starsky.'

'Good,' he answered.

 

******************************

'So, you see, I was right about the dragon being different,' said Hutch.

They were in Lady Hutchinson's bedchamber. Roland, Hutch's father, lay in her bed, under his Lady Wife's personal care. He seemed cheerful, and alert, and had insisted on knowing everything that had happened after the attack.

'She told me that she thinks Lady Frohlich sensed her feelings about the baby dragon, her concerns, and misunderstood, somehow. The dragon wanted someone to share blood with the new dragon, to create a bond with the great above. But Lady Frohlich thought she wanted a sacrifice.'

'A blood sacrifice?' asked Lady Hutchinson. 'Whose blood? You mean the baby's?'

'Rosemary's, yes. I don't think it would be wise to tell my Lady Wife of this. In some cases, ignorance is bliss. And we can make it clear to anyone here who still thinks the dragon is after the blood of innocent babies, that they're mistaken.'

'Do you think they'll listen to you now, Hutch?' asked Starsky, with a chuckle.

Hutch grinned. 'I think they will,' he said.

There was a tap upon the door. Giles entered at Lady Hutchinson's call. He bowed to his Lady, then said, 'There is a message for Kenneth, and David Starsky.'

Lady Hutchinson waved her consent. Hutch nodded at Starsky to take it.

'It's from Prince Rezik,' said Starsky. 'He says that his Lady Mother has granted her permission. He would like to know when we might be available to travel with him to our own World.'

'In a few days, I think,' said Hutch. 'We must needs get a little more settled here. But we cannot wait too long. I promised the dragon I would plant that new continent in the ocean, as soon as it is ready. So we must be back here in time for that.'

'How do you intend to plant a continent, Hutch?' asked Starsky. 'What does she think you are? Atlas, or Hercules, or something?'

'I don't know exactly,' said Hutch. 'But the dragon's blood will help, I suppose. And the continent is a seed, or an egg. It will hatch, and grow. It must needs be moved to the great above whilst it is very small, you see. Otherwise, the movement will cause earthquakes, and tsunamis.'

'Well, would you like me to send a message to Prince Rezik?' asked Starsky. 'I will be very discreet.'

'Thou shouldst do that,' said Hutch. 'I am going to gather the husbands and daughters together, and explain a few things.'

Hutch met Mary in the hallway. She blushed, but looked quite cheerful. It seemed her night hadn't been quite so dreadful as she had feared. Hutch carefully avoided making any reference to that fact, though.

'Lady Wife,' he said with a bow. 'I trust you are well?'

'Oh, yes,' she said vaguely. 'I'm just going to look for breakfast. And… and Ken?'

'Yes, Lady Wife?'

'All those… all those men are mine? They wouldn't be shocked if I…?'

'Certainly not,' said Hutch. 'No one would be shocked. Does that mean you are not so eager to leave this world as once you were?'

'Leave? No. I'm not ready to leave. Not yet. If that's okay with you?'

'It is entirely up to you, My Lady,' said Hutch. 'Stay as long as you like.'

Mary smiled, a bit like a cat who just found an unending source of cream. 'I will,' she said, and went off in search of breakfast.

And who knew what else, thought Hutch to himself. It was none of his business. He rounded up the other inhabitants of the Frohlich homestead, and had them marched under guard to the Common Room.

'I have discovered the reason your former Lady attacked the Hutchinson homestead,' he told them. 'She believed it was under orders from the dragon, but it was not. Several people are dead, as a result of her actions. Last night, two more members of your household died, when they attacked me and one of my fathers. This behaviour will cease.'

'And you know the mind of the dragon?' asked one of the Frohlich Daughters.

'I do,' said Hutch 'I spoke with her last night.'

Several people gasped. Others laughed. 'Prove it!' said the Daughter.

Hutch called his knife to his hand. He glanced over at the doorway to the Common Room. Starsky, and Lady Hutchinson, were just entering the room. Starsky smiled, and leaned back against the doorpost to watch.

'I spoke with the dragon last night,' Hutch repeated. 'I travelled with her, into the great below. I know her mind, and she does not want babies sacrificed to her. She has confirmed me in my position as First Husband of the new Lady Frohlich. Anyone who rebels against our rule again, will be going against the will of the dragon. If you want proof, I can give it.'

Hutch cut his palm, and from his flesh, instead of the expected blood, there burst forth fire.

 

*** The End ***


End file.
